Even though her older brothers love it, Yoomi hates her grandmother’s “spicy, stinky kimchi.” She tries different ways of eating it, but nothing seems to help make the kimchi more appealing. Just when Yoomi is ready to write kimchi off for good, her grandmother asks her to help her cook up a delicious kimchi pancake for the family that everyone loves — and Yoomi ends up loving it too!
No Kimchi for Me is appropriate for pre-k to 2nd grade. Teachers can emphasize to children that sometimes you need to try something quite a few times or in various ways before you can know for sure you don’t like it. You just might be surprised! Of course, this book is a great springboard for conversations about culturally relevant foods. Cabbage, the main ingredient in kimchi, is grown and eaten in different ways in different communities. It is a hardy crop that grows well in cold climates — another farm to ECE discussion point.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
They chop…
Pour…
Break….
Add….
Stir…
And cook.
Yoon smells something delicious.
“What’s that?” asks Yoon.
Jun smells it too.
“What’s that?” asks Jun.
“IT’S A KIMCHI PANCAKE”
Though the story does not portray humans, it highlights traditional Korean folk tales featuring personified animals as main characters. Find more works by Aram Kim on her website.
We received this book for review as part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day! Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Their mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and on school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. #ReadYourWorld
No Kimchi for Me is part of The Food Trust’s multicultural collection of farm to ECE books, which highlights children’s books that feature characters from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and covers a wide variety of farm-to-ECE-related topics, including gardening, cooking, family meals and more.