Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Amazing book about COVID-19 is full of emotion and recipes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
It's the early days of a new virus in MORNING SUN IN WUHAN, and young Mei doesn't want to wear the mask her physician father insists she have for school and errands. But the severity of the devastating, contagious virus is soon clear to her when the city is shut down and no one can move in or out. How will they get food and medicine if the city is closed down? What happens when the hospitals are overrun with patients? Will her father ever make it home alive? Mei wants to help, so she puts her cooking talent to use at a community kitchen, where she makes and distributes meals for emergency workers and those in her neighborhood who can't cook for themselves. What comes out of her kitchen nourishes body and spirit.
Is It Any Good?
This is a remarkable, exceptionally good book about a moment in our recent history we may not fully understand yet. Readers impacted by the fear and uncertainty of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have a deeply emotional response to young Mei's experiences. Morning Sun in Wuhan is extraordinary, as it draws on the fear of the unknown and the resolve of a community to be compassionate in a time that was chaotic and terrifying.
The rich Chinese culinary tradition is somehow both the centerpiece of the story and the supporting character to Mei and her friends, who are learning to cook, to trust, and to be vulnerable while being strong. The recipes throughout the book are both plentiful and clearly written, and should inspire readers to hit the kitchen themselves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the early days of the pandemic were like for them as compared to how it was for the characters in Morning Sun in Wuhan. What do you remember about the early days when communities were shut down? How did you feel?
What kinds of things can we do to help our community organize itself when there's a disaster? What would your part be?
What recipes from this book would you like to try making yourself?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Contemporary Fiction
- Topics : Cooking , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Clarion Books
- Publication date : November 8, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 208
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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