Noodle & Bao
by Shaina Lu; illus. by the author
Intermediate, Middle School    Quill Tree/HarperCollins    224 pp.
10/24    9780063283411    $24.99
Paper ed.  9780063283404    $15.99
e-book ed.  9780063283428    $11.99

Momo has spent her entire life in her beloved Town 99, a fictional setting resembling real-world Chinatowns but where humans and anthropomorphic animals from different cultures coexist. Gentrification threatens the survival of Noodle & Bao, the restaurant run by Momo’s best friend’s ah-ma (grandmother)—and it also threatens Momo’s own housing situation. Not content to stand by and do nothing, Momo makes plans to organize Town 99’s residents against the corporation funding the town’s gentrification. Lu’s clean and expressive graphic-novel style, with most characters drawn with exaggeratedly round features and figures, radiates gentleness and warmth. The limited two-tone palette of black and red, combined with a mix of flat coloring and screen tones, creates contrasts and highlights as well as visual variety and texture. The use of multiple Chinese languages (Mandarin and Cantonese), usually but not always accompanied by English translations, represents the linguistic diversity of the setting and appeals to audiences with multiple literacies, adding layers of nuance and enjoyment for those in the know. Blending silly moments and fantastical elements with a more serious real-world issue, this book serves as both a loving tribute to Chinatowns and an invitation to young readers to stand up against injustice in their own communities. Back matter gives information on Chinatowns, gentrification, community organizing, and language.

From the ">January/February 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.