The Caldecott criteria states that the award should honor a work that provides “a visual experience” for the young reader and “respects a child’s ‘understandings, abilities, and appreciations.’” Cherry Mo’s visually enthralling and nearly wordless debut, Home in a Lunchbox, does just that, using colorful digital illustrations and cinematic flourishes to tell a personal story about a girl named Jun who finds solace in her lunchbox after arriving in the United States from Hong Kong. 

Mo beautifully sets up Jun’s situation right at the book’s start, even before the title page, with an economic double-page spread. On the left side, a Hong Kong scene appears, with fireworks bursting in the sky and an aerial view of cars and buses rushing by iridescent skyscrapers. Readers can practically hear the various noises. On the right, the reader sees a quiet suburban street, with an American flag waving and a moving truck marked “Swift Movers International” driving down the otherwise empty road.

Most of the ensuing action occurs at the school now Jun attends. However, the title page serves up a domestic scene with Jun’s mother kissing her cheek as she leaves. Whisps of vapor drift above the tasty-looking meal Mom has made. Jun smiles with her eyes closed but clutches her lunchbox with both hands. Mo excels at facial expressions and body language. The girl looks both content and nervous.

As Jun heads to school, Mo employs effective cartoon-style panels showing her at the bus stop and interacting awkwardly with a friendly peer. The conversation is captured in speech bubbles. The colors are bright and warm. One of the panels shifts to Jun’s point of view as she looks at a limited number of translated English words written on her palm. Jun thinks she has bonded with her new classmate and looks deflated when the girl does not sit next to her on the bus. The colors now slightly darken, reflecting Jun’s disappointment.

Mo now introduces a poignant visual touch that recurs throughout the book. As Jun looks at the bus window, she remembers sitting on an adult’s shoulders, looking at the colorful fireworks booming in the sky, pointing at them with excitement. The reader has gone inside Jun’s head, feeling what she feels, remembering what she remembers. This contrast between a happy past and a now uncertain present proves remarkably effective.

As Jun enters the school, there is an overhead shot of her walking alone as the many other children converse with one another. Mo flattens the colors even more as Jun struggles with finding her classroom, pop quizzes, and her schoolmates talking loudly over her head in a language Mo presents as gibberish squiggles.

This emphasis on grayish colors makes the moments when Jun opens her lunchbox all the more effective. When Jun starts eating her lunch, bursts of fireworks fill the air. And Jun remembers all of the great times with her family and friends back in Hong Kong. Swirls of color dance across the page. Hearts drift around her as she enjoys her lovingly prepared meals. The book becomes a visual feast. 

Throughout the story, the reader notices that the aforementioned girl from the bus stop has been watching Jun with curiosity and concern. Mo slips in a double-page spread showing the whole class having lunch together at a giant table. Grays surround them...except where Jun sits, slightly separated from the rest. Sparkly swirls emanate from her lunchbox; the only bright color on the page. The girl, as well as two boys, notice. When Jun’s peers reach out to her in a welcoming manner, warm reassuring colors now dominate. When this hungry quartet starts sharing food, Mo goes all cinematic with an overhead point of view shot of the shared meal. Fireworks abound. A bond has been formed.

Earlier in the book, when Jun feels frustrated, the reader sees her come home from school looking alone and dejected. Jun practically howls with despair. In a terrific callback to that scene, the book ends sweetly with our protagonist arriving home, but this time with friends. Cheerful colors please the eye as Jun’s mother welcomes the guests.

Home in a Lunchbox takes readers on an emotional ride. And Mo deftly employs many visual touches that whisk the reader inside her protagonist’s head. From joy to frustration, sadness to elation, we experience what Jun experiences. Home in a Lunchbox provides a visual experience for the young reader and respects and honors the emotions children feel after a major change occurs. Hopefully the Committee will consider this celebration of food, family and friendship.

[Read The Horn Book Magazine review of Home in a Lunchbox]