Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao

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Bao for short. A type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. Soft, fluffy dough that is steamed with various fillings inside. The kitchen stove in the story is more or less based on my actual stove. It’s a gas stove, because I’ve cooked with gas all my life. My mum cooked with gas, and my grandmothers did too (one grandmother liked using charcoal as well, but that’s another story). The rice cooker also looks similar to the cooker I grew up with, although the one I use now looks different. Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.

Hybrid Chronicles series is set in an alternate universe society in which every body possesses two ' souls' or human identities at birth. One of these identities, termed the "recessive soul," is supposed to fade away with age. Those who retain both souls are labelled 'hybrids' and are ostracized from normal society. The series' protagonists are Addie and Eva, the dominant and recessive souls respectively, who inhabit the same body. The girls hide the presence of Eva, who has lost control of their shared body but never completely faded, for fear of what might happen if they were ever discovered. Over the course of the trilogy, the girls are at first institutionalized for their hybrid nature, then join a resistance force for hybrid rights. Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao melds together the richness of classic children's books storytelling with the cheery conciseness of newer picture books. Kat Zhang (born 1 April 1991) [1] [2] is an American award-winning [3] [4] author of young adult and middle grade literature. She has also written two picture books, Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. [5] Her first trilogy, The Hybrid Chronicles, was published by HarperCollins in the United States. According to WorldCat, the series is held in 2,545 libraries, [6] and has been translated into Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Polish and Italian. The first volume, What's Left of Me, was published in 2012; the second volume, Once We Were, was published in 2013; and the third and final volume, Echoes of Us, was published in 2014.When have you tried something really hard? How did you feel when you failed? What did you do to overcome those feelings? The Memory of Forgotten Things was selected as a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year. [20] Amy Wu loves Bao. It's one of her most favorite things to eat. Everyone in her family can make them. Perfectly. But she can't. They're either too small or falling apart or too doughy...it's always a mess. But Amy Wu isn't about to give up and creates a Bao making plan. Maybe she'll find the secret to creating a perfect one herself. Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao” by Kat Zhang and illustrated by Charlene Chua is a beautiful book about a young girl learning to make homemade Bao. Her family members each give her suggestions that work for them, but as much as she tries it just doesn’t work for her. Even though she almost felt defeated, she perseveres and in the end realizes what works for her.

Kat Zhang spent most of her childhood tramping through a world weaved from her favorite stories and games. When she and her best friend weren't riding magic horses or talking to trees, they were writing adaptations of plays for their stuffed animals (what would The Wizard of Oz have been like if the Cowardly Lion were replaced by a Loquacious Lamb?). This may or may not explain many of Kat's quirks today. Amy is a vivid little girl who lives with her mom and dad and grandma. They have a loving supportive family that's brought to life through the bright illustrations with little smiles. The pictures just exude happiness. Determination and a love for a delicious food hit a little silliness and tons of family support in this fun read, which is sure to direct interest to the kitchen and foreign foods. Zhang graduated from Vanderbilt University. [8] Writings [ edit ] Young Adult novels [ edit ] Hybrid Chronicles trilogy [ edit ]Amy Wu is a young Asian child who is exploring her culture and identity alongside her supportive family – in this book, she is trying to make the perfect bao (the book provides a great definition of bao and a pronunciation guide for outsiders!). However, Amy is having trouble with her bao because it just never comes out perfect like everyone else’s in the family does. Eventually, Amy’s grandmother helps her cut the dough in half, which makes it easier for Amy to roll out and stuff with meat, and suddenly Amy makes perfect bao. Notably, she says the ‘imperfect’ ones taste just as good (a good lesson!).