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A review by sarasreadingnook
Lucky Cat by Melody Cheng, Helen Wu, Janet Wang
3.25
Good story that shows the struggle of immigrant families trying to run a business in a new country.
Lucky Cat is a Children’s picture book written about an immigrant family moving to America opening and running what they hope will be a successful restaurant. June’s Mama is excited that there is a Lucky Cat left behind at this restaurant. Although June and the new feline do their best to to help out, it appears that Lucky Cat is not able to help out as she would like to and that, funny enough, luck might not be on her side. With time, June’s family works hard to find a business venture that will work for them. And learn that luck is not everything - hard work and dedication pay off.
One of the major strengths of this picture book is the beauty of the illustrations, most often occupying the entire page. At times, it feels like looking at stills from a major film production. There are beautifully captured character emotions and details in the book. Though, I’m not a fan of the image of the Lucky Cat stuck in the wash - of course this is a fictional, magical cat but I think this visual is just unnecessary and doesn’t add to story. Additionally, the text was difficult to read in pages that have a grey background with black text.
Regarding the story, I like the overall themes, that real luck is earned through hard work and perseverance. While June of course wants to help out , it is a bit odd to me that June is more concerned about the businesses than her parents appear to be at times. However, being the daughter of an immigrant family that ran a family business myself, I understand having concern as a child and trying to help out. I just wish June didn’t feel like she had to take so much responsibility for it all since she’s just a kid after all.
Overall, I think this is a good story and enjoyed reading it as it shows the amount of hard work and perseverance it takes for immigrant families to succeed when moving to a new country.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
Lucky Cat is a Children’s picture book written about an immigrant family moving to America opening and running what they hope will be a successful restaurant. June’s Mama is excited that there is a Lucky Cat left behind at this restaurant. Although June and the new feline do their best to to help out, it appears that Lucky Cat is not able to help out as she would like to and that, funny enough, luck might not be on her side. With time, June’s family works hard to find a business venture that will work for them. And learn that luck is not everything - hard work and dedication pay off.
One of the major strengths of this picture book is the beauty of the illustrations, most often occupying the entire page. At times, it feels like looking at stills from a major film production. There are beautifully captured character emotions and details in the book. Though, I’m not a fan of the image of the Lucky Cat stuck in the wash - of course this is a fictional, magical cat but I think this visual is just unnecessary and doesn’t add to story. Additionally, the text was difficult to read in pages that have a grey background with black text.
Regarding the story, I like the overall themes, that real luck is earned through hard work and perseverance. While June of course wants to help out , it is a bit odd to me that June is more concerned about the businesses than her parents appear to be at times. However, being the daughter of an immigrant family that ran a family business myself, I understand having concern as a child and trying to help out. I just wish June didn’t feel like she had to take so much responsibility for it all since she’s just a kid after all.
Overall, I think this is a good story and enjoyed reading it as it shows the amount of hard work and perseverance it takes for immigrant families to succeed when moving to a new country.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.