Book Review of Miya’s Mooncakes
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The Children’s Book Review
Miya’s Mooncakes
Written by Crystal Z. Lee
Illustrated by Allie Su
Ages: 4-6 | 40 Pages
Publisher: Balestier Press (2026) | ISBN: 978-1913891732
What to Expect: Friendship, community, Chinese tradition, celebration, inclusivity.
In this lovely story about celebration, diversity, and inclusion, author Crystal Z. Lee, who considers herself “an immigrant and a traveler,” makes a traditional Chinese celebration the focal point for friendship and acceptance between many different immigrant families.
In Miya’s community, there are people of all different cultural and religious backgrounds. Miya wants to invite them all to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival with her family—but her street has been sadly lacking in community feeling recently, and even her father can’t seem to find the holiday spirit. Then, after listening to a traditional story, Miya comes up with an idea—she’ll use the tradition of giving mooncakes to spread some joy around her neighborhood. When the day of the festival rolls around, Miya’s family is surprised and delighted at how many of their neighbors turn up to share gifts and join in the party—all thanks to the note Miya included with the mooncakes she made for them: “You make our neighborhood a better place.”
Miya is friendly, empathetic, and creative, and readers will love seeing how she spreads her positive vibes through her whole community. The story uses the expressive metaphor of open and closed windows to symbolize how communities can either come together or isolate themselves, and this theme is repeated visually throughout the story, which moves between intimate indoor scenes and neighborhood depictions. The first-person narration is delivered through short, simple sentences with just a few more challenging words thrown in, perfect for developing readers.
Bright, cheerful pastels and lots of intricate details (the display of bread in the bakery, the Rumi quote in the patisserie window) make each page a cozy and welcoming scene to fall into.
Uplifting and joyful, Miya’s Mooncakes is perfect for readers who wonder how they can be good neighbors in our increasingly diverse and divided society.
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About the Author
Crystal Z. Lee is a Taiwanese American bilingual writer. She is the author of picture books Miya’s Mooncakes, Pei’s Pineapple Cakes, Mei’s Mermaid Mission, A Unicorn Named Rin and Kai the Dancing Butterfly. Besides children’s books, she also writes short stories, novels and poetry. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, she has called many places home, including Taipei, New York, Shanghai and the San Francisco Bay Area. She now splits her time between California, Singapore and Taiwan.
For more information, visit www.crystalzleeauthor.com.
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