Rejected by the parents of the girl he loves for being poor, Ma Mon Luk strikes out from China and boards a steamship headed for the Philippines in 1918. He vows to make a fortune and return for his beloved. Ma creates a chicken noddle soup he calls mami--"ma" for his name and "mi" for noodles--and peddles it as a street vendor. He eventually earns enough to open his own restaurant and wins the approval of the parents of his true love. Joyful illustrations from award-winning illustrator Kristin Sorra and heartwarming text from debut picture book author Jacqueline Chio-Lauri blend together to create a delicious story about creativity, perseverance, and the perfect bowl of soup. Satisfy your hunger with this Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! "A savory success story."--Booklist "An absolutely wonderful and inspiring story, beautifully illustrated. So much depth, so many layers! But at its core, this is fundamentally a story about the enduring power of love and how that helped Ma Mon Luk to achieve the impossible.

A valuable addition to any bookshelf."--Emma Pearl, author of Mending the Moon and Saving the Sun. ve and how that helped Ma Mon Luk to achieve the impossible.A valuable addition to any bookshelf."--Emma Pearl, author of Mending the Moon and Saving the Sun. ve and how that helped Ma Mon Luk to achieve the impossible.A valuable addition to any bookshelf."--Emma Pearl, author of Mending the Moon and Saving the Sun.

ve and how that helped Ma Mon Luk to achieve the impossible.A valuable addition to any bookshelf."--Emma Pearl, author of Mending the Moon and Saving the Sun.