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“Fantastic, Flavor-Filled Food Novels for Kids” by Catherine Hong
Hong says of A Place at the Table, “For all the novel’s sober themes, there’s a lightness and brightness to the story borne out by the girls’ spunky quest to win the contest. And Elizabeth’s delight at the scent of popping cumin seeds and the taste of aloo tikkis ‘sizzling with the aroma of cilantro and olive oil’ will tempt the palates of even die-hard chicken nugget loyalists.”
Check out all of the wonderful books in this review:
MEASURING UP
Written by Lily LaMotte
Illustrated by Ann Xu
A PLACE AT THE TABLE
By Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
AMERICAN AS PANEER PIE
By Supriya Kelkar
THE SURPRISING POWER OF A GOOD DUMPLING
By Wai Chim
Teen Vogue named A Place at the Table one of “Ten Books with South Asian Characters You Should Read in 2020.”
A Place at the Table, Laura’s new book written with Saadia Faruqi, is about two very different girls who have one thing in common. They are both first generation Americans. Read about how this story is based on Laura’s own experience as the child of an immigrant at the website A Novel Mind.
Save the date! On April 14, 2020, Laura’s novel Takedown will be out in paperback. Look for giveaways and prizes to help celebrate the paperback release of this action-packed friendship story about the first girl on an all-boys’ wrestling team.
Look for my new book in May, 2020! A Place at the Table is co-authored by Saadia Faruqi.
Sixth-graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is huge and completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is forced to attend because her mother is the teacher. The girls form a shaky alliance that gradually deepens, and they make plans to create the most amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together and win a spot on a local food show. They make good cooking partners … but can they learn to trust each other enough to become true friends?
See the cover reveal at Nerdy Book Club.
About Me
Laura Shovan is the author of the award-winning middle grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Her 2nd book, Takedown, is a Junior Library Guild and PJ Our Way selection.
