Common Sense Media Review
By Susan Faust
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Chinese take-out delivery makes for a tender tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
A father and daughter deliver Chinese take-out from their restaurant on a rainy night. He is the driver, and she is the navigator, using a paper map to locate the correct addresses. Their first stop is to a regular customer, and Baba also gives her special oil to help with a pain. (The girl translates from Cantonese to English and back.) The next stop is to a family, and, by this time, the girl is resentful that she must go on deliveries instead of watching TV or doing homework. It is then that Baba tells her about his own boyhood during the Cultural Revolution in China and later his immigration to America. Their final customer is upset by a late delivery, and there is no tip. The girl feels responsible, but Baba reassures her, "Before I had you, I would get so lost." Then it is back to the restaurant where dinner awaits, Baba saving the most tender pieces of meat for his navigator. In the back matter, there are notes from the author and the illustrator that describe their personal connection to the story.
Is It Any Good?
A tender tale deals with a girl's mixed emotions as she helps her father with Chinese take-out deliveries, longing to be not just a "good kid" but a "normal" one with homework and TV by night. To give his American-born daughter perspective, Baba shares his boyhood memories of the Cultural Revolution and his immigration to America in Navigating Night. Angie Kang's moody art, in deep, saturated nighttime blues, illuminates the girl's face as she moves from frustration to understanding—rain intensifies her emotions, and it lets up as she comes to appreciate her father's sacrifices. Julie Leung's honest narrative is gracefully rendered in Kang's lovely images that heighten the central theme: how American-born children of immigrant parents play a special role as translators, navigators, and connectors in a new world. Touching and timely, this picture book is accessible to younger kids but will resonate with older ones too, serving as a catalyst to consider the complex issues immigrants and their families may face.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ways the girl helps her father in Navigating Night. and all the ways that the girl in the story helps her father. Would you call that teamwork? Do kids in immigrant families have special responsibilities? How do you help in your family?
Some of the menu items from Baba's restaurant are mentioned. Have you ever had any of the dishes? Do you like to try new foods that have come to America from other places? Like what?
Baba tells his daughter about his early life in China and about immigrating to the United States. Do you ever ask your parents or relatives about their early lives? If so, what have you learned?
In the story, Baba gives his daughter the extra tender pieces of meat for dinner. Is that his way of showing gratitude? What are other ways the characters show gratitude? How do you show you're grateful?
In the story, the girl is able to act as a Cantonese-English translator for her father and his customers. Do you know another language? If so, have you ever had to help people communicate with each other? What's that like?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Angie Kang
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Family Stories ( Dads )
- Character Strengths : Communication , Gratitude , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Anne Schwartz Books
- Publication date : March 10, 2026
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : March 25, 2026
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