Every Friday Louie sees the hustle and bustle behind the scenes at his grandpa's Chinese restaurant. The chef's hands fly as he chops vegetables, the delivery boy zips in for a pickup, and the waiters holler out order after order. Then it's time to eat. Grandpa offers Louie a whole fish and crabs. "No, thank you, Grandpa!" But the dumplings, egg rolls, and chow mein sure look good. No trip to the Chinese restaurant is complete without a fortune cookie: "Happy food, happy belly, happy smile."
Caldecott Honor-winner Rachel Isadora brings a dynamic restaurant to life with beautiful cut-paper collages reminiscent of Eric Carle and Ezra Jack Keats.
"The smile-inducing title and cover image of an Asian boy holding a fortune cookie invite readers inside to the story . . . Louie’s dinner serves up a universal experience with a clever twist at the end. The oil-on-palette-paper collage illustrations effectively portray the scenes with striations and textures . . . The photographic image of the fortune cookie adds a sweet touch."--Kirkus Reviews
"Isadora’s characteristic collage-andoil illustrations—attractive as always— incorporate patches of menus, swatches of material, and images of Chinese boats, cranes, and other Asian motifs. Like Ted Lewin’s Big Jimmy’s Kum Kau Chinese Take Out (2002), for a slightly older audience, this brief bite of Chinese cuisine will add flavor to multicultural units."--Booklist
