By Maureen Tai, 28 March 2021

Turning the pages of M. Sasek’s classic This is Hong Kong (ages 5+) with its evocative, detailed illustrations, is like stepping into history, to a time when the city’s streets were teeming: with rickshaws, hawkers and labourers carrying dried fish, silks or bricks on the end of bamboo poles, stylishly-coiffed ladies in cheongsams, and tourists seeking all manner of exotic goods. While some landmarks – notably the Tiger Balm Garden and Kai Tak Airport – and some sights – floating schools, traffic controllers in gazebos – no longer exist, Sasek’s pictorial ode to Hong Kong is enchanting for readers of all ages.

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!

By Maureen Tai, 21 March 2021

In The Fan Brothers’ dreamy picture book Ocean Meets Sky (ages 5+), a Chinese boy named Finn honours his late grandfather by building a boat out of scrap wood and sea junk. After a nap, he embarks on a magical journey, looking for the place his grandfather told him about, where ocean meets sky. Aided by a gargantuan, moustached golden fish, Finn visits fantastical lands, encountering mystical creatures of the sea and of the sky, all gorgeously illustrated in breath-taking, blue-toned spreads. Finn’s story gently suggests that memories can keep a person alive, and that the imagination has the power to heal. (100 words).

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!

By Maureen Tai, 7 March 2021

Thank you, Omu! (pronounced “AH-moo”) (ages 5+) by Nigerian author-illustrator Oge Mora, is a heart-warming picture book about kindness, diversity and inclusion. In her apartment in North America, Omu, a kindly grandmother figure, cooks a red stew. The delicious smell wafts into the surrounding neighbourhood, enticing many hungry visitors to Omu’s door. Generous Omu graciously shares her food, but at the end of the day, will there be any left for her own dinner? The vibrant, pastel-hued, mixed-media collage illustrations and lively story will engage and entice even younger children reading with parents or with others in a group setting.

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!