Publishers Weekly
★ 06/05/2017
With crackling energy and dramatic flair, Martin (Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious) and newcomer Lee pay tribute to Roy Choi, whose cooking melds the Korean flavors he grew up with those of his California home—“Los Angeles on a plate.” In clipped verse that draws on the rhythms of hip hop, the authors follow Choi from the launch of his Kogi food trucks to his efforts to “feed good food, create worthy jobs, and bring smiles” to “hungry” parts of the city. Man One’s layered, graffiti-style artwork mimics the narrative’s energy and Choi’s commitment to “cooking for everyone.” Ages 5–12. (June)
From the Publisher
The perfect family gift.”—Minnesota Public Radio, “Best Books of 2017"
“This is one of the most exciting picture book biographies of the year. Come for the ramen endpapers. Stay for the killer story and art.”—Fuse #8 Production blog, School Library Journal
“Killer art accompanies the true to life picture book biography of Roy Choi, the man who brought high end cuisine and street food together so that everybody could have an equal chance to eat. Special Bonus: Ramen endpapers.”—Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids List
*Starred Review* “Spicy, sweet colorful tangy—all the words that authors Martin and Lee use to describe Roy Choi’s Korean Mexican cuisine apply just as accurately to the book they’ve created along with L.A. street artist Man One… Choi’s dedication to bringing wholesome flavorful fast food to low-income neighborhoods is reflected in every word and stroke of this colorful book… If you’re not hungry already this savory array of sizzling words and art will make your mouth water. VERDICT This excellent picture book biography about an inventive chef doing good belongs on all shelves.”—School Library Journal
School Library Journal - Audio
Winter 2018
K-Gr 3—Martin teams up with coauthor Lee and graffiti artist Man One to share Roy Choi's journey. Choi learned about cooking from his parents, restaurateurs in Los Angeles. Calling his parents' restaurant the "best good place," Choi loved making food alongside them—and especially loved eating it surrounded by friends and family. He eventually attended cooking school and became a sought-after chef. But the kitchen grind wore him down, and he left it all behind to instead serve kogi (Korean short rib) tacos out of a food truck in L.A. With the success of his food truck, Choi opened a series of cafes in low-income neighborhoods to "feed good food, create worthy jobs, and bring smiles." The bulk of the text is engagingly read by the illustrator Man One. It's a refreshing change of pace for the illustrator to narrate, and in this case, it's a natural choice because of his closeness to the subject as well as his background as a commercial and movie actor. Informative, interesting, and lengthy authors' and illustrator's notes are read on a separate track by the authors and illustrator. VERDICT This unconventional picture book biography with a talented cast of creators is an appealing audio offering.—Jennifer Verbrugge, State Library Services, Roseville, MN
School Library Journal
★ 05/01/2017
Gr 1–5—Spicy, sweet, colorful, tangy—all the words that authors Martin and Lee use to describe Roy Choi's Korean Mexican cuisine apply just as accurately to the book they've created along with L.A. street artist Man One. Choi's parents came to the United States from Korea when he was two years old, opening a family restaurant in Los Angeles. After stints as an aimless street kid and a cooking school—trained chef, he combined his local knowledge, Korean heritage, and chef skills to open a taco truck, serving Korean barbecued short ribs wrapped in corn tortillas and loaded with Roy's "awesome sauce." One truck turned into many, which led to his first stationary restaurant, Locol, in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. Choi's dedication to bringing wholesome, flavorful fast food to low-income neighborhoods is reflected in every word and stroke of this colorful book. The jaunty text has the rhythm of a griot's story ("What? Chefs cook in kitchens, not on trucks!") without sacrificing readability. Graffiti tags and airbrushed landscapes are the background for energetically warped cartoon illustrations. Lots of diagonals and brilliant colors capture the speed and flavor of street food served hot. One particularly effective sequence juxtaposes Choi in his chef's whites garnishing a plate of lamb chops with Choi, wearing headphones and a backward baseball cap, scratching a record while mixing up "awesome sauce" on the following page. In both spreads, the focus is on his skilled hands, the concentration evident on his face. If you're not hungry already, this savory array of sizzling words and art will make your mouth water. VERDICT This excellent picture book biography about an inventive chef doing good belongs on all shelves.—Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson
JULY 2018 - AudioFile
Vibrant L.A. will leap into the minds of listeners in this audio homage to Korean-American chef Roy Choi’s path to street food stardom. The accompanying picture book’s illustrations are eye-popping, and Los Angeles-based graffiti artist Man One’s narration has a style all his own, especially his rap delivery of the book’s short cooking poems. Co-author and co-narrator June Jo Lee’s bright voice delivers definitions for young listeners to bring helpful context to the story. Combine all these elements with various rhythmic beats, sounds of the city, and the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, and you could say this audiobook shares a certain awesomeness with Roy’s Awesome Sauce. Listeners are guaranteed to finish with a hankering for some spicy food cooked with love, and sohn maash. E.E.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-03-29
The third installment in the Food Heroes series presents Roy Choi and the Los Angeles street-food scene. Breezy text and lively illustrations invite young readers and cooks into the world of the food revolution happening across the country. Locally sourced fresh produce and good cooking are what chef Roy Choi is all about. A formally trained chef who has worked in fancy restaurants, he decided to be a "street cook" serving "outsiders, low-riders, kids, teens, shufflers, and skateboarders." Drawing on his South Korean roots and the many cultures of Los Angeles (where he was raised), Choi cooks the way his mother did, "the Korean way—by hand—briny and tangy kimchi, spicy bibimbap, scallion pancakes studded with oysters." Early on, when Roy's Kogi BBQ Truck made its rounds with its Mexican-Korean fusion, people said, "Korean guys can't do tacos"—but Kogi tacos made Roy famous, and the double-page spread of an LA map with pinpointed locations of the trucks testifies to that. Though bordering on in-your-face at times, Man One's graffiti-art style is the perfect complement to Choi's cooking and the lively LA street scene. Readers who get hooked will want to read Choi's L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food (2013). A vibrant, life-affirming tribute to a chef and his city. (authors' notes, illustrator's note, bibliography, resources, biographies) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)
