AUNTIE LO’S GREAT SOYBEAN PICNIC by Ginnie Lo.  Illus. Beth Lo.  NY:  Lee & Low Books Inc., 2012.  32p.  978-1-60060-442-3; hc., $18.95.    Gr.K-3    EP

During a yearly family reunion when two families are on an outing in the farm country near Chicago, Auntie Yang sees what appears to be a soybean field. Delighted, Yang asks the farmer if she can pick some of the beans and leaves with a bag of soybean plants. When the group return home Auntie relates how important soybeans are as food in China as well as telling the children the lore about the bean. After making several traditional soybean dishes, the families enjoy them at a soybean picnic. The picnic becomes a yearly event, growing larger every ensuing year. At the time the story takes place soybeans were unknown as people food in America; the bean was used as feed for cows and pigs. Based on the author’s experiences with her family and the real Auntie Yang’s soybean picnics, this story gives readers a glimpse into Chinese culture and the admirable closeness of family.

Barbara Ward, Retired Children’s Librarian, Dickinson County Library