This book is good for upper primary and lower intermediate grades. The story follows a young girl and her grandfather as he teaches her to make their family noodle recipe. The book talk about the grandfather making magic noodles and at first the little girl can't figure out how to put her own magic into the noodles, but eventually she gets it. This book would be good for teaching students about family and tradition, as well as perseverance and continuing to try something when you feel like you can't get it. ( )

A story about a father and daughter work together to create a family noodle recipe
6 books

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. I liked the book because of the illustrations. They really matched the writing. For example, on one page it said, the next morning, Mei and her friends played and jumped with stands of white, wheaty dough. In the illustration, it shows a group of girls playing with a long piece of dough, playing jump rope. Another reason I liked the book was because of the message behind the story, which is you can do anything you put your mind to and to believe in yourself and you can do it. This is shown toward the end of the story when the girl starts to learn from her grandfather about making noodle magic. She didn’t believe in herself till the moon goddess told her remember, magic must come from within. ( )

Noodle Magic is a very inventive book. I very much enjoyed reading it, and even went back to read it a second and third time. The thing I enjoy most about it is when Mei's grandfather tells her that she has to find her own "magic" and that no one else can help her. I think that regardless of race or age, everyone can relate to that sentiment. Additionally, Mei's relationship to her grandfather is very accurate to the relationships that extended family had to an individual in Asian culture, so that was also good! ( )

I liked this book, but I was concerned about correct culture representation. There was no note from the author about the story’s origin, so it must not be a traditional folk story. The story itself was interesting and heartfelt. It is a story about a young girl and her grandfather and the magic they can produce. The pictures were captivating with all of the noodle shapes created. The many details of the scenery fill the pages with full snapshots of ancient China. The lighthearted plot shows the importance of family when one is trying to accomplish new, big things in life. I liked the role of the grandpa as a teacher to the girl, though he couldn’t teach her exactly how to do the magic. He taught her how to have faith and believe in herself. The need for family members in individuals’ lives is the overarching theme that anyone can relate to. The big idea is that everyone has magic within! ( )