The Cook's Family [Turtleback]

Laurence Yep (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

What do you do when your world is falling apart? Robin Lee can't stand her parents' constant fighting, so she's glad to spend time with her grandmother in Chinatown. They've befriended a lonely cook and pretend to be his long-lost family. At Cook's restaurant, Robin's a star and a whole new world opens up to her. In her make-believe father she finally discovers a sense of her Chinese heritage, and she sees a new and exciting side to her grandmother. The thing is, once Robin starts pretending, she doesn't want to stop.

"The sense of place is immediate, showing acutely the differences between Chinatown and Robin's Richmond District neighborhood...This is a fun story, and a unique one that will appeal to readers on several levels." --School Library Journal

"This sequel to Ribbons takes a further searching and funny look at Chinese American family life." --Publishers Weekly

"A vivid, first-person account of a pivotal year in a young boy's life."--School Library Journal

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This sequel to Ribbons takes a further searching and funny look at Chinese-American family life. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7?Robin's home life seems to be falling apart. Her hard-working Caucasian father is often absent and her Chinese mother spends all of her spare time doing the books for her brothers' new store. There is little time for the family to be together, and Robin and her younger brother feel neglected. Therefore, when a waiter at a San Francisco Chinatown restaurant asks Robin and her grandmother to pose as the long-lost relatives of the lonely cook, the girl finds herself more and more interested in Chinese customs and what it means to be a good Chinese daughter. Dividing her time between her real family and her pretend one, she finally learns how to be expansive instead of divisive and helps her family come closer together. The remarkable charade that is at the heart of this book may seem unbelievable, but the author's note at the end of the novel reveals just how realistic it is. Elements of the characters and plot at times seem overdone, almost slapstick, and strain readers' trust?yet these facets are always in tune with the bittersweet family setting Yep creates. The sense of place is immediate, showing acutely the differences between Chinatown and Robin's Richmond District neighborhood, and among several different Chinese-American cultures. This is a fun story, populated by the characters from Ribbons (Putnam, 1996), and a unique one that will appeal to readers on several levels.?Nina Lindsay, Vista School, Albany, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606189327
• ISBN-13: 978-0606189323
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Laurence Yep has been fascinated with tales of sibling rivalry from the day he was born. His older brother, Tom, chose his name Laurence - after a saint who died a particularly gruesome death. Laurence has been trying to get even ever since. Laurence Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife and is one of children's literature's most respected authors. His award-winning titles include Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Robin's life, March 28, 2003

By 

C.Donado (Cerritos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cook's Family (Hardcover)

The Cook's Family
By: Laurence Yep
Reviewed by: C.Donado
Period: 6
This book is about a girl named Robin and how her family has problems. Robin is really sick of it and when she gets to be in a fantasy life she really starts to enjoy it. Robin and her grandmother were at a restaurant one day when the waiter came up to them and said that they were just the right people to pretend to be the cook's family. Robin and her grandmother start to like being around Wolf, the cook, that they go visit him every week. Robin's family is still having family problems and her parents fight all the time. Finally, Robin starts to do something about the problems.
I liked this book because it has a good way of describing a fantasy life. Robin meets Wolf for the first time and she performs for him. Wolf applauded. "She seems to float," he said to the waiter. Robin gets really good food but can't eat it because ballet. Robin feels like a bad daughter and tries to get better at it. Finally she finds out that she was a great pretend daughter.
I also liked this book because it talks about how to overcome family problems. Robin's parents have been fighting since her mom started to work at their family company with her brothers, Robin's uncles. Robin and her brother get really sick of it and her brother hates that their parent's are always fighting. "Be brave for me," Robin said. "It will go away soon." Later their parents figure a way out of all the fighting.
My favorite part of this book was the ending. Robin wakes up in the morning and decides to take the first step in repairing her family. So Robin makes pancakes, coffee, and gets the newspaper. Her dad comes to breakfast followed by her mom then her brother, and Robin hears the news that her parent's are going to take consoling. Robin calls her grandmother to tell her that her mom was not going to the store that day and finds out that her grandmother had a date. So in the end, all went well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 17, 2001

By 

dreamstreetgirl (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cook's Family (Novel) (Paperback)

I love ballet and I love anything to do with Asia, so obviously I loved this book. It was awesome and I highly recommend it, Lawrence Yep is a great author.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Multicultural Book Ever, October 15, 2000

By 

Hannah (Ft. Collins, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cook's Family (Hardcover)

This book is about a girl and her grandmother who get whisked into a drunk cook's life. When Robin and her grandmother unexpectedly get pulled into a restaurant by a waiter they are persuaded to be (act)a cook's wife and daughter. Wolf (the cook)however is not fooled by this act but willingly follows along. While a family war is raging among Robin's mother and father Robin finds another family in the cook and his friends. She feels that she is not "chinese" enough to please the cook and struggles to be more chinese. The flow of this book ranks among Yep's best work. Each part of the story swirls with the next to create a touching multicultural novel about two groups of people trying to fit in with one another.This book is a sequel to Ribbons. The ending of this book is strong, touching and even sad but this adds to the exqusite story spun by Laurence Yep.