Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia

by Jenny Liao, Dream Chen (Contributor)

A heartwarming picture book about a Chinese-American girl who grows to appreciate the traditional dishes her parents prepare for her and finds a way to share her lunch with her classmates.

Everyone loves lunchtime. Everyone, that is, but Zia.

At school, the other kids are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and apples on the side. But Zia's always nervous about opening her lunchbox. Her dumpling and noodle dishes look different and smell different. She dreads lunchtime.

Then, during her birthday week, her parents pack her a different Cantonese dish each day and explain what the food represents: a roast pork bun to bring treasure, soy sauce chicken to bring success, and more. At first, Zia doesn't want to eat her lunch, but once she starts, she just may realize her food could bring her good fortune after all!

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Family, School, Asian American, Friendship, Cultural

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2023

About the author

Jenny Liao was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a proud child of immigrants and her writing focuses on inspiring readers to find pride in every part of their identity. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker and Bon Appétit.

When Jenny isn't writing, she’s eating. No matter where she is in the world, she’s always searching for the local form of fried potato or Chinese food. Jenny currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two calico cats, Donut and Beignet. She is the author of Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia, Everyone Loves Career Day but Zia, and With You In Spirit.

You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @jeliao or jeliao.com.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zia is a Chinese-American kid who dreads bringing her lunch to school every day.
While the kids in her class bring sandwiches, she is often questioned about her noodle and rice dishes.
Then her parents pack her lunch for her birthday week, explaining what the dishes mean.
This could lead to some interesting changes at the lunch table.

Love and respect #OwnVoices Author Jenny Liao and Illustrator Dream Chen for this showcase of Cantonese cuisine and the legacy in culinary meaning to traditions and culture.
It will make you hungry. I admit, I would rather have had Zia's lunch than cafeteria food or a PB&J any day.
The illustrations are wonderful and there is even a recipe at the back to try.
Will you enjoy your lunchtime?

[May Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me of all the wonderful dishes I can't live without and how I should be more grateful. Food is how my family knows to show love. I can't wait for my future kids to read this and show a little more appreciation for our culture. Highly recommend!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has awesome pictures and so much information about cuisine. My class this year is big into food books and they LOVED this one. Highly recommended.

[Kendall Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia is an amazing story about accepting and appreciating cultural differences. Zia dreads lunchtime because she feels like an outcast because of her Cantonese meals while the other children bring “normal”, or more American, lunches. She asks her parents to pack her different lunches; instead, they continue to pack Cantonese food but explain the special meaning behind each meal. As the week progresses, Zia begins to appreciate her lunches and her classmates start showing interest. On her birthday, Zia shares Cantonese food with the class, who enjoy the new and different foods. Zia learns that her cultural identity is nothing to be ashamed of and learns the value of self-acceptance. This story is an excellent way to get students interested in trying different foods and appreciating different cultures.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming and delicious book! Food is so important in Chinese culture and I wish I appreciated their meanings more when I was growing up. This book is so relatable, especially for all the ABCs out there who just wanted to fit in, not understanding their identity at a young age. I was Zia but not with the happy ending 😩. I made my parents buy me the lunchables and sandwiches ☹️ I’m so happy to see books like this that can teach children it’s okay to be different and to be proud of it. Also, to share your differences with others. Now I want to go eat everything in the book!

[kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!!! Children and adults together can learn about the special meanings behind different Cantonese dishes! It's great to see more Cantonese culture representation in media. And gorgeous illustrations by Dream! Now I want to eat! 😤

[Book Buying With Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am now extremely hungry. And almost done with this giant stack of illustrated books. Sorry to spam your feed, oops.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son had me read this nightly the week we borrowed it from the library. It’s strange: my son is a really picky eater and generally hates anything that isn’t chicken nuggets or pizza, but he LOVES reading books about food from other countries and cultures.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny Liao's story and Dream Chen's illustrations celebrate Cantonese cuisine through the story of a young Chinese American girl Zia who initially feels embarrassment with the Cantonese dishes her family puts in her school lunch every day. Then a week of special dishes with symbolic meanings which seem to link to positive outcomes in her life, Zia comes to appreciate the cuisine of her culture. On her birthday, she decides to share it with her classmates leading to a positive change in attitude for her and those around her. The end notes include a special recipe for Yi Mein noodles. There is a well written author note providing further insights into the varied cuisines of China. The dishes featured in the book are explained in a glossary at the end with Chinese words and spellings included. This is a good addition to a classroom collection that celebrates a variety of cultures.

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zia loves her family’s food at home, but not at school. Sometimes she just wishes she had peanut butter and jelly too. But during her birthday week, she learns of what all her family’s meals mean and that her school friends can learn and appreciate them too. A great book for kids who feel different or are new to traditional Cantonese dishes. A book that will make you hungry!

[Jian Xin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so heartfelt and personal coming from a Chinese background. I highly recommend it as it provides a great way to introduce the culture to children in ways they can understand.

[Nicole Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so in love with this wonderful picture book! It's a wonderful, delightful celebration of a young girl's journey into her cultural history through the food her parents prepare for her in her school lunches. Little Zia learns how to take pride in what makes her lunches special, and goes a step further and shares her discoveries and stories with her school mates.

Not only is it empowering for those kids who may feel different, but it also gives us small glimpses into the history behind beloved Cantonese foods in a way that will have young readers begging their parents to take them out for dim sum. Luckily, there's a fun recipe at the end that kids can make right away, with the help of a trusted adult, of course.

A really fun story that will make lunchtime a moment of discovery and togetherness for all kids!

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely book about the magic of having pride in your cultural heritage. The story is both universal, so anyone can relate to it, and educational about the unique meaning of Cantonese foods. I loved reading it to my daughter and looking at the beautiful, delicious pictures. It became an instant favorite! I already ordered copies for my friends with kids!

[Belenmedina99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet story with a great message about learning to appreciate your family's culture, especially when it is not mainstream. It also shows the value of sharing your differences and how that can enrich others around you.

I also love the illustrations that go with the story. They are as bright and heartwarming as the text.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this sweet story about a young girl's journey learning to love and embrace her family's food at school. Having stories like this one is so important, and I know this will be a longtime favorite to read with my son. This is a must have book for every family!

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story about why it’s amazing to be different and unique, even more since it’s told through beautiful pictures of foods that I grew up eating. Hopefully this is the first of many stories we get to read about Zia!

[Kenneth Liao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great children's picture book. Beautiful story, Love the perspective. Illustration is wonderful. Can't wait for more stories from the Author!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's encouraging to see the publication of so many picture books celebrating various cultures while enhancing awareness of those cultures. This one features traditional Cantonese dishes and puts a different spin on how youngsters feel about lunchtime. While many of them love lunch because of the relative freedom they have and the chance to nosh on their favorite foods, lunchtime is a trial for Zia. Not only does her lunch container differ from the bags and carriers of her classmates, but the contents are quite different since her parents lovingly pack her favorite foods inside. But compared to others' lunch bags, hers seems odd and smelly to her classmates. Although Zia loves these foods, her embarrassment leads her to request a simpler repast. During the next week, her parents make special lunch meals but with cultural significance, foods that represent togetherness, treasure, success, warmth, and a long life filled with luck and happiness. As Zia starts to open her container and eat those foods, all those promised gifts start to come into her life. To celebrate her birthday, her parents bring enough food for everyone in the class and explain the significance of those foods. The circular nature of the story in which Zia starts out hating lunch unlike everyone else and then comes to love it just as much as her classmates adds interest to the story. This picture book might be a good choice to share with youngsters along with others in this same vein so that they can realize that different is neither bad nor good; it's simply different, and there are many different tasty foods to explore. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, though, because I doubt that everyone in the class would be so accepting and eager to try unfamiliar foods. And what about those youngsters who eat cafeteria food or on free lunch? It seems in this crowd that very few of them do, which seems unlikely. Created with colored pencil and digital coloring with Adobe Photoshop, the illustrations are warm and detailed, showing off the various foods prepared by Zia's family and their own enjoyment of traditional dishes. The backmatter includes thumbnail sketches and descriptions of the foods mentioned in the text, a recipe, and translation of five Cantonese words used in the story. The endpapers are just as tasty as the story since they feature typical school lunch trays on the first pages and eight dishes that Zia might have eaten.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

i would advise you getting a real hand held book not reading the kindle version ...the pages are not able to enlarge like some kindle books ... for kiddie poohs ... i prefer those over this style. i am not sure what is the difference?!? but in others you can physically ...take fingers and move the photos (with text) and getting in closer to see all the details of the illustrations and all that kind of stuff. which is way cool. this would be a good book to be able to have that feature ...the meals are so interesting but you can not get closer ...or as close as you might enjoy. for that reason and that is a huge reason ...the stars went down. make sense? i am reviewing a KINDLE copy ... please get a real book ...one you can hold and show the kiddies up close. i read a local library leaning program ...book ... take note. these illustrations are amazing and just gorg3eous. you can see the text ...just not that well ...it would make another feature to be able to enlarge the text ...but that can not happen? i wish i knew how and why, because like i said in other kindle books i can do that. ... not this one. kids and adults like myself are wishing for that ability. this is a keeper for sure ...if you have a real book ...go on a buy it ... so fun.

there is even a recipe at the end ...i wish i could read it. sad face. i want little kids you read as well ...so a lot of the times i will buy books for the kids that once i have read it i pass it on.

[Our Weekend Is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite things about reading is learning about new places and cultures so I was delighted to learn about Cantonese food and its meaning when reading Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia. Zia's family loves to pack her lunch with her favorite Cantonese food, but Zia is embarrassed by how different her food is and wishes she could bring crackers and cheese. Zia's parents make her a week of Cantonese lunches each with a special meaning like treasure, togetherness, and success. Zia learns that her cultural food is something to be proud of and she shares her favorite dishes with her class.

The book was beautifully illustrated with mouth-watering pictures of Cantonese food. At the end of the book, there was a glossary for the different foods mentioned. This was extremely helpful since I was unfamiliar with some of those foods. As an added bonus the author included a recipe for Zia's favorite noodle recipe.

Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia is the perfect picture book to teach young readers about Cantonese foods and how learning about different cultures can be fun.

This review first appeared on YA Book Central and can be found here : https://www.yabookscentral.com/everyo...

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zia's lunch is different from everyone else's lunch. She brings home-cooked Cantonese food. At home, Hannah loves the food her family eats but not so much at school... The other kids don't understand why her food smells different or doesn't look like their sandwiches. They ask LOTS of questions and sort of make fun - which makes Zia feel very uncomfortable. When Zia asks her parents if she can have a lunch like everyone else, they come up with a plan for a week of very special lunches! Each dish has a special meaning. And each one helps Zia slowly learn to not worry that her food is different.

There is a recipe for yi mein noodles included in the book along with an author's note that discusses Chinese cuisine and culture. Also a food glossary!! And now I want Chinese food. Specifically cha siu bao.

This would be a great book to read during the first week of school - just to help raise awareness that not every child brings the same thing for lunch. Maybe even have kids share what their favorite foods are! "Rainbow Shopping" by Qing Zhuang would make a nice companion read to go along with this one! Maybe have some bitter melon - and Chinese candy - on hand for everyone to try?

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot to love and appreciate about this book; it's a beautiful celebration of a girl's connection to her family and Cantonese culture through the food her parents lovingly make her. It also spotlights the way a lot of kids feel at lunchtime: isolated, bullied, and put down because of the food they bring. So many of my students recount stories like Zia, which is why books that emphasize the diversity and beauty of food are vital. Okay, with all of that said, I rated the book lower because some of the aspects felt too grandiose to be believed. For instance, Zia shared a dish with shrimp with a classmate who ended up loving it. Given all of the allergy protocols in school settings and many children's food preferences, this scene felt like a stretch. The ending where "Zia receives more birthday cards and hugs than she can count" also felt unrealistic. I want this to be kids' experiences, but I don't think this book provides the tools for many who experience exclusion due to the food they eat.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute book about one girl's traditional foods, some of the meanings behind them, and exposing others to a wider variety of foods.

I like the hopeful ending of this book, that Zia's parents brought a variety of their foods to Zia's class and everyone ended up enjoying it. Really though, there is such a variety among the dishes that I guess it's not surprising that everyone would find something they enjoy (if only they're willing to give it a try). :) A lot of it sounded delicious and I appreciated the glossary (with pictures) at the end that contained a description of each dish. I took a picture of it so I can request some of the dishes in the future! Goodness, now I'm hungry.

This is a bit too long to use in a toddler or preschool storytime but it could work in an elementary school one quite well.

[Sylvia Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERYONE LOVES LUNCHTIME BUT ZIA serves up a fresh—and Cantonese!—take on the cultural lunch trope. The story incorporates meaningful food picks and subtle parental support to help foster Zia's self-growth as she wrestles with her lunch experiences at school. Savvy weekday sequencing bolsters the story arc, and this book shines for showcasing delicious Cantonese food, cultural differences (especially for home-packed school lunches), meaningful Chinese food associations, sharing care and culture through food, and taking pride in what makes you unique no matter how unfamiliar to others. Not to mention the enticing illustrations for colorful and drool-worthy dishes, ever-supportive parents, and relatable, endearing expressions. If you haven't already, go check out this delicious book!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need diversity in your picture book collection, add this title. Does your school celebrate Mix It Up at lunch day? Read this book before that day. (https://www.learningforjustice.org/cl...) Do you have a diverse school where lunches may be culturally different? Read this book to talk about how to learn about diverse foods. Perhaps your school will add a Multicultural evening event like is done in my elementary school. It gives students a chance to celebrate family favorites and share them with others!

Thank you, Jenny Liao and Dream Chen. Not only is the story and art wonderful, but you included back matter necessary for those of us without Chinese family connections to do justice to your story. My students will love that you included a recipe, as well!

[Zoey Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic! This book starts off with a young girl named Zia, embarrassed to eat the food her parents packed for her at lunchtime because of mean comments that came from her classmates. Zia's parents took that information and decided to make her special lunches for a week and explaining the meaning of each of the foods in their culture on a piece of paper with her lunch. Zia was later found proud of the food she has grown up on, and proud of what makes her different from the rest. This book is appropriate for grades k-3 because of the illustrations, vocabulary, and story. I would use this book to teach about kindness but most importantly different cultures and traditions. We could even use this book to create a recipe used in the book!

[Vanessa Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about a girl eating her Cantonese food in the cafeteria at lunchtime and feeling different than others because her food is different. Family helps her learn to not be ashamed of her food. I would read it to my classroom-but I wish the phonectic spelling section in the back was better-it doesn't really explain how to say the words in the correct way and I think it is really important to say words in other languages accurately. Also, when she is thinking to herself, the section could say Zia thought to herself-it just appears as a sentence and would be hard for young readers to understand it is a thought just because it is in italics.

[James Donald]

Zia loves her food, but she hides it at lunchtime. The other children make fun of it, and she wants American food because of this. Her friends soon learned about her food and absolutely loved it (Liao, J., & Chen, D. (2023). Everyone loves lunchtime but Zia. Knopf Books).

In my classroom, I would utilize this book for preschool to second grade. It has a lexile score of AD600L. It has many food pictures and is fun to follow along.

I would make this book part of my library to explain differences in culture. The food pictures can be used to show these differences. It could also be used to help people appreciate and know about different cultures.

[PB FAIRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most children like to fit in with their peers, and Zia is no exception. She doesn't like lunchtime because her packed meals look and smell and even feel different from the foods the other kids eat. But when she sees throughout the week how extra special her different lunches can be, Zia wants to share her favorite foods with everyone and decides she enjoys lunchtime after all. So many interesting facts are included in both the text and the wonderful backmatter. This yummy book leaves its reader hungry in the best way -- hungry to learn even more about the wonderful foods people eat!

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cute story about having a "weird" home lunch reminds me of Geraldine Poo and Her Lunchbox Too. Great stories for school and classroom discussions, as well as using with your own kids to help them get past the need to "fit in" and be the same as other kids. Zia learns to appreciate her culture and the gifts of each person's unique heritage. Zia's Cantonese foods are pretty detailed, which makes a great intro to Chinese culture.

Read as a nomination in the Fiction Picture Book book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).