Measuring Up
by Lily Lamotte (Author) Ann Xu (Illustrator)
For fans of American Born Chinese and Roller Girl, Measuring Up is an own voices graphic novel debut from Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu!
"A beautiful story about food, family, and finding your place in the world." --Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese and Dragon Hoops
"A delicious and heartwarming exploration of identity by a young immigrant trying to find her place in multiple cultures." --Remy Lai, author of Pie in the Sky and Fly on the Wall
Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má's, seventieth birthday together.
Since she can't go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids' cooking contest to pay for A-má's plane ticket! There's just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she's determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too?
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Fall 2020 Kids Indie Next List
Featured in Parents Magazine Book Nook October issue
A CBC Hot off the Press October Selection
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School Library Journal
GR 3-7-Twelve-year-old Cici and her parents have moved from Taiwan to Seattle, leaving not only Cici's friends behind but her beloved A-má as well. A-má, with whom Cici would visit the market every morning and practice cooking favorite recipes, is about to turn 70, and Cici's biggest wish is for her grandmother to fly to Seattle and celebrate with the whole family. But how can they afford the expensive plane ticket? A potential solution appears in the form of a cooking contest at a local shop—Platinum Jr. Chef ("because platinum is obviously better than iron"), featuring a $1,000 prize! But Cici wonders: Will the judges accept her Taiwanese cooking, or will she have to quickly learn American recipes? As she moves through the contest, Cici makes new friends, draws strength and inspiration from her family's traditions and from lessons learned in her new home, and discovers the power of trusting her convictions. Cici is a plucky, bighearted protagonist, tackling head-on the many challenges her new circumstances throw at her, such as coping with a steady barrage of microaggressions, trying to fit in, and finding a way to reconcile the demands of American kid-hood with her parents' hopes and expectations. Bright, full-color illustrations bring the story to life. Clean and expressive line drawings on simply colored backgrounds leave lots of room for the story's big emotions, while also allowing for the delightful level of finer detail that is employed for the cooking sections. VERDICT Purchase wherever feel-good family stories are in demand, and recommend especially to readers who love cooking-filled comics.—Darla Salva Cruz, Suffolk Cooperative Lib. Syst., Bellport, NY
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
JUV008110 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Humorous
United States
Grandparent and child
Graphic novels
Seattle (Wash.)
Emigration and immigration
Cooking
Competitions
Taiwan
Immigrant children
Taiwanese
