Happy Belly, Happy Smile

by Rachel Isadora, Rachel Isadora (Illustrator)

Overview

Every Friday Louie sees the hustle and bustle behind the scenes at his grandpa's Chinese restaurant. The chef's hands fly as he chops vegetables, the delivery boy zips in for a pickup, and the waiters holler out order after order. Then it's time to eat. Grandpa offers Louie a whole fish and crabs. "No, thank you, Grandpa!" But the dumplings, egg rolls, and chow mein sure look good. No trip to the Chinese restaurant is complete without a fortune cookie: "Happy food, happy belly, happy smile."
Caldecott Honor-winner Rachel Isadora brings a dynamic restaurant to life with beautiful cut-paper collages reminiscent of Eric Carle and Ezra Jack Keats.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547544786
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/28/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

RACHEL ISADORA began dancing at the age of eight. She trained at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet and has danced professionally. She has illustrated many books set in the world of dance and theater, including the Caldecott honor, Ben's Trumpet, which was also a Boston Globe-Horn Book honor award winner. She grew up in New York City and lives there now.

RACHEL ISADORA began dancing at the age of eight. She trained at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet and has danced professionally. She has illustrated many books set in the world of dance and theater, including the Caldecott honor, Ben's Trumpet, which was also a Boston Globe-Horn Book honor award winner. She grew up in New York City and lives there now.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 1—This slight vignette follows Louie's weekly Friday visit to his grandfather's restaurant in Chinatown. He watches the chefs, waiters, delivery boy, and other workers go through their routines. He eats dinner with Grandpa Sam and runs into a friend. The story has essentially no plot and lacks transitions, making the reading choppy. The collage and oil illustrations are brightly colored and utilize some interesting materials, including actual fortune cookies and paper scraps. However, they are static, and the depictions of some of the Chinese characters verge on stereotypical. Isadora is at her best with the vivid fish tank and decorations; the photos of actual food and pieces of take-out menus are also effective. While the child/grandfather angle brings immediacy to the story, at heart it is just a laundry list of things that happen in a Chinese restaurant. And without cohesiveness or a strong story line, it is unlikely to warrant repeated readings. Pick up a copy of Ted Lewin's Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out (HarperCollins, 2002) or Grace Lin's Dim Sum for Everyone! (Knopf, 2001) and pass on this forgettable offering.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

School Library Journal

The smile-inducing title and cover image of an Asian boy holding a fortune cookie invite readers inside to the story. "Friday is my favorite day. On Fridays I have dinner with Grandpa Sam. He owns a restaurant in Chinatown." Louie gets to go into the kitchen and say hello to Chef Ben and watch Chef Lee chop vegetables and the bicycle delivery boy pick up an order. Grandpa orders Louie's favorite dinner of steamed dumplings, egg rolls and shrimp chow mein with oranges and fortune cookies for dessert. His fortune is the title phrase, and Louie makes a smile with his orange slice. This Chinatown is generic and could be anywhere, and Louie's dinner serves up a universal experience with a clever twist at the end. The oil-on-palette-paper collage illustrations effectively portray the scenes with striations and textures. Isadora's technique here is much better suited to this original story than her Africanized folktales (Hansel & Gretel, 2008, etc.). The photographic image of the fortune cookie adds a sweet touch. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

04/27/2015
In Caldecott Honor author Isadora's (Ben's Trumpet) celebration of a treasured ritual, Louie narrates his weekly visit to his grandfather's Chinese restaurant. The spare, straightforward prose is bolstered by collage and oil art featuring an imaginative array of textures (including snippets from takeout menus), patterns, colors and shapes. Especially strong visuals include a tank filled with tropical fish, a large paper dragon suspended from the ceiling and festive Chinese lanterns. The bustle of the kitchen, where staffers shape egg rolls and peel shrimp, while the chef chops vegetables is conveyed with similar energy. After contentedly sharing a meal with his grandfather (Louie eagerly devours steamed dumplings and shrimp chow mein, but passes on a whole fish and wide-eyed crabs), the boy moves on to dessert. Eagle-eyed kids will notice that one image is at odds with the text: Grandpa reads the fortune from Louie's cookie, which allegedly says "Happy food, happy belly, happy smile," yet the fortune seen in Grandpa's hand reads otherwise. Nonetheless, despite a lack of narrative momentum, this is a happy story starring one undeniably happy child. Ages 3—7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The smile-inducing title and cover image of an Asian boy holding a fortune cookie invite readers inside to the story . . . Louie’s dinner serves up a universal experience with a clever twist at the end. The oil-on-palette-paper collage illustrations effectively portray the scenes with striations and textures . . . The photographic image of the fortune cookie adds a sweet touch."—Kirkus Reviews

"Isadora’s characteristic collage-andoil illustrations—attractive as always— incorporate patches of menus, swatches of material, and images of Chinese boats, cranes, and other Asian motifs. Like Ted Lewin’s Big Jimmy’s Kum Kau Chinese Take Out (2002), for a slightly older audience, this brief bite of Chinese cuisine will add flavor to multicultural units."—Booklist
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From the Publisher