Chinese-American author Kat Zhang has 3 different Amy Wu books, but since I'm a total sucker for children's books that involve food, I had to feature "Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao!" The story chronicles little Amy Wu's struggles as she attempts to make the perfect bao like her mother, father, and grandmother. 

Before I continue, I feel like I should clarify what bao are for those who don't know. Bao (pronounced bow as in, "She bowed before the princess") are amazingly delicious steamed buns. We get them all the time from the Asian market in town. They come in a variety of sizes with all sorts of fillings. We've had ones filled with various meats, vegetables, red bean, and custard. The kids' favorite is one called a Phoenix bun, which is filled with a sweet runny eggy custard.

Ok, now I can get back to the story. So Amy tries over and over and over to make the perfect bao but they're just not coming out right! Can she figure out the secret to making the perfect bao her own way? Watch the read aloud below and find out!

While it is actually a chilly rainy windy day here, it's May and we're all thinking about warm weather and pools and...ice cream! Today's story takes us back over 100 years to the time 11 year old Frank Epperson accidently invented the popsicle!

I'm very excited to share my second Global Explorers GET'EM mystery with you all! I originally planned to have one ready last month but I ran into trouble when I tried to do too much. I was right in thinking creating the mystery this time around would go much more smoothly than with Korea. However, wanting to also add in a full meal menu proved to be a little crazy trying to test out recipes while doing everything else! (There were also various other ideas popping into my head distracting me...) So I've realized I should focus on one thing I want to do and if I end up with extra time I can add more. Since my kids like the mysteries the best, that's going to be my first focus!