Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Get ready for another wonderful book from one of my favorite author/illustrators, Benson Shum. He’s so lovely – he stopped by to chat and share the inspiration for this illustrated early reader – plus, he’s offering a giveaway of a copy of MOONCAKES MEAN FAMILY which just launched last week.

MOONCAKES MEAN FAMILY

Written and illustrated by Benson Shum

Published by Penguin Workshop

Ages: 5-7 (reader age) – but 3 & 4-year-olds would love to hear the story!

Themes: Mid-autumn festival, humor, early reader

Synopsis: From Amazon:
Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with this sweet story of food and family!

In this story designed to engage early readers, charming characters combine with simple text, lively illustrations, and laugh-out-loud humor to help boost kids’ confidence and create lifelong readers!

Jade and Crystal love the Mid-Autumn Festival because it means it’s time to make a tasty treat—mooncakes! Crystal’s favorite part of the delicious dessert made of lotus seed paste is the yummy salted egg yolk at the center, meant to represent the moon. Join the sisters as they gather with their family for a memorable meal together! 

Complete with fun facts about the holiday in the back of the book, young readers will want to revisit this story again and again.

Exciting, easy-to-read books are the stepping stone a young reader needs to bridge the gap between being a beginner and being fluent.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love stories that serve as windows and mirrors so that all children can feel seen as well as learn about different cultures.
2. I love this genre of early reader that engages a wide audience – the youngest who can enjoy the story and pictures – and the older child who gains confidence as a reader.
3. Benson’s art is so joyful – his color palette and characters always make me smile.

ME: Welcome, Benson. I love that you share the story behind the story – in this page from the book which details how the Mid-Autumn Festival started. What inspired you to write about this?

BENSON: Thank you for having me for Perfect Picture Book Friday! After my book Alex’s Good Fortune came out, I wanted to write another story in the same format about other holidays/festivities I grew up with and loved. That’s how the idea of Mooncakes Mean Family came about. The Mid-Autumn Festival was a special time. My sisters and I looked forward to mooncakes! They are only available in grocery stores during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in many shapes and sizes, and I remember picking one in the shape of a piglet wrapped in a red basket.

The design of the characters came from a painting I did for the Mid-Autumn Festival back in 2022. There are many folktales that go along with the holiday. One of them is about a jade rabbit. Hence I painted a bunny enjoying their mooncake. I posted the process of the painting on Tiktok and instagram and it got some traction. So my agent sent a link to my editor of Alex’s Good Fortune along with a pitch about Mooncakes and another idea (WE ARE LION DANCERS coming out Dec 31st, 2024). Fortunately she loved it and acquired both! I hope kids and adults will enjoy Mooncakes Means Family, learn a bit about the holiday and share mooncakes with their friends and family! I also have activities to go along with the books on my website. https://bensonshum.com | 
Instagram-Twitter-Tiktok: @bshum79

ME: Thank you so much, Benson. And thank you for the generous giveaway of a copy of MOONCAKES MEAN FAMILY.

And here’s a fun paper mooncake craft from Benson:

And another paper mooncake craft with step by step instructions:

Dear friends, don’t miss the chance to WIN a copy of this beautiful book…please leave a comment and share on your social media for extra tickets in the giveaway hat.
What else can we do to help a book like this become successful?
Buy the book
Review the book
Place the book on your Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for spending your precious time here.