Fortune Cookie Fortunes [Paperback]

Grace Lin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Crack, crack, crack! The cookies snap open and the family’s fortunes are revealed. Mei Mei wants to know how hers will come true. Jie Jie scoffs—they never come true. But Pacy isn’t so sure. As she waits and watches, she notices magical things happening in her family. Could the fortunes really be right? And what about Pacy’s fortune: “You will see the world in a new way”? Well, yes, it’s true! Pacy has been seeing the world through fortune cookies!

This exhuberantly illustrated story about every kid’s favorite part of a Chinese meal also includes a brief history of the fortune cookie.

What will your fortune be? Crack! Open up a cookie and find out.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–While eating at a Chinese restaurant, a young narrator exclaims, "The best part... is the fortune cookies. Crack! Crack! Crack!" Hers says, "You see the world in a different way." That is indeed true as she views the world in terms of fortune-cookie messages and sees them as coming true. For example, Ma-Ma's garden is bursting with growth ("Attention and care will make great things happen"). Jie-Jie's room is filled with magnificent origami animals ("Your imagination will create many friends"). A yellow car laden with luggage is trailed by a caption that reads, "Someone will visit you soon." Lin's trademark patterns grace not only clothing, but also sky and walls, and the papers with the typed fortunes are decorated with smiley faces. The child's upbeat view of the world around her is charming. A page of back matter gives the history of fortune cookies. Pair this book with Ina R. Friedman's How My Parents Learned to Eat(Houghton, 1984) and Lin's Dim Sum for Everyone (Knopf, 2001) for a delicious program on Asian food. The final endpaper shows an opened cookie with the fortune, "You have just read a good book." Children will agree.–Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. The family from Dim Sum for Everyone (2001) returns, dining out again in a Chinese restaurant, where fortune cookies end the meal. Do the messages mean anything? The narrator, the middle sister, isn't so sure. But Ma-ma's fortune reads, "Attention and care will make great things happen," and her garden bursts with fruits and flowers. Sister Jei-Jei's fortune reads, "Your imagination will create many friends," and the narrator spies Jei-Jei surrounded by origami animals. Lin contributes a clever take on a fresh topic, but it's too bad she begins with dad's fortune, "Your moods are contagious." Even when children see the fortune become manifest (dad sleeping in the park with others sleeping around him), they may not understand the term contagious, even in context. What's more, being sleepy isn't exactly a "mood." However, as always, Lin's pen-and-watercolor-artwork is totally engaging. Bright, lively colors and scenes presented from unusual perspectives are hallmarks of Lin's art, and the illustrations here are no exception. An afterword tells the real, rather surprising story of fortune cookies. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dragonfly Books (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440421926
• ISBN-13: 978-0440421924
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 0.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American
  • #23 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American

More About the Author

Hello! Thanks so much for your interest in me and my books!

I grew up in Upstate NY with my parents and 2 sisters, whom are featured in many of my books, including "Dim Sum For Everyone!" and my novels, "The Year of the Dog" and "The Year of the Rat." My mother and I were the star characters in my first book, "The Ugly Vegetables"--I cut both my sisters out of that story! They were quite upset with me and made me promise never to cut them out again. And since then, I haven't...yet.

While many of my books highlight my family, not all of them do. My Newbery Honor-winning novel "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon," is an Asian inspired fantasy that some people call a Chinese 'Wizard of Oz,' and my early reader "Ling & Ting" is inspired by the old 'Flicka, Dicka & Ricka' books I read when I was young.

I hope you enjoy my books. Please visit my website: www.gracelin.com for more info about them (behind the scene stories and pictures) as well as other amusing anecdotes!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should be in your future!!!, August 16, 2004

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fortune Cookie Fortunes (Hardcover)

This is a great book about fortune cookies and their messages. When a Mei Mei's family finished dinner here come the fortune cookies. Everyone reads their fortune and Mei Mei wonders if these fortunes will really do come true. As the story unfolds you get to see each family member and their fortune! I really like Grace Lin's books!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's Your Fortune Say?, January 5, 2007

By 

Gwynne C. Spencer (Mancos, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortune Cookie Fortunes (Hardcover)

For older kids, even high school, this would be a great starter story for them to read and then make their own fortune cookies, inserting their own fortunes before the hot smooth cookies harden. A nice end note explains some of the original of the Fortune cookie as Japanese, not Chinese, but the overall charm of the book is its celebration of the traditions of the messages inside the cookies. If you didn't want to make fortune cookies from scratch in a classroom, you might just settle for everyone having a fortune cookie (available in most large groceries) and sharing their fortunes over a cup of nice tea. Also, check out Dim Sum for Everyone, also celebrating cultural food experiences for all ages.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great purchase for Multicultural learning., January 9, 2007

By 

Staci Long (Russell, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortune Cookie Fortunes (Hardcover)

I bought this book for a lesson on Multiculturalism in the classroom. I incorporated a puppet with the story, and the students loved it. This is a must for any classroom.