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Cheerful rhyming illustrations celebrate the making of Bee-bim Bop!
*Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee. Clarion Books, 2008. 32 pages.
- Reading Level: Picture books, ages 0-4
- Recommended For: Ages 0-4
Dinner time is around the corner, and one little girl (with the family dog) is excited to keep her mother company in the kitchen. The little girl happily watches her mother work, narrating her progress in rhyme:
“Mama’s knife is shiny
Slicing fast and neat
Garlic and green onions
Skinny strips of meat.”
Lee’s illustrations are reminiscent of Helen Oxenbury’s style. For the page-spread accompanying the above verse, the knife flashes in rapid motion while the little girl scrunches her eyes closed, cheeks reddening thanks to the chopped onions.
A CHILD’S PERSPECTIVE OF BEE-BIM BOP
In most pages, Mama is a blur of motion, head above the illustrations. Our small protagonist cheerfully encourages her with variations of this refrain:
“Hurry, Mama, hurry
Gotta chop chop chop!
Hungry -very hungry
For some BEE-BIM BOP!”
If the reader is uncertain of just what bee-bim-bop is, they will learn through the cooking process. Finally, the table is set and the family sits down. First they say grace, and then it’s time to dig into a meal of the delicious Korean dish: bibimbap. (Pronounced just like the book’s title!)
Considerations: none
Bottom Line: A happy celebration of cooking, time in the kitchen, and Korean cuisine from a child’s perspective, Bee-Bim Bop! is a delight.
*indicates a starred review, the best of the best in its field.
Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader
- Reviews: More picture books about Asian culture include Rice From Heaven (Korea), Kailani’s Gift (Philippines), and Home in a Lunchbox (Hong Kong/America).
- Reviews: Not sure where Korea is? (Or, rather, your kids don’t know much about Korea?) We’ve got you covered: Amazing Asia and Prisoners of Geography (the picture book version) help children get oriented to where in the world Korea is.
- Reviews: For more by Linda Sue Park, see A Long Walk to Water, Prairie Lotus, A Single Shard, and The One Thing You’d Save.
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