A lovely meditation on family, poverty, wants and needs, and understanding between generations. A must purchase.

“My grandmother is so old, no one knows how old she is.”

So begins a picture book that delves into the way of life of a Hmong refugee family. On one level, it is the story of Grandma, who grew up in an unspecified country (assumed Laos) in Asia. She was a young orphan who had to look after her little brothers and sisters.

At another level it is about her grandchildren, who are Hmong Americans growing up with financial hardship. Many Hmong people were US sympathisers in the Vietnam War and were offered asylum in the United States after that.

Grandmother and grandchildren’s stories intersect in the scarcity of food, and the tenderness of their relationship. “The luckiest of the grandchildren got to help take care of Grandma.”

And this is no lip service care. The narrator proudly announces that she “got to clip [Grandma’s] fingernails and toenails”. She also got to trace the deep stained cracks of her feet and listen to the stories of daring that caused them.

The family have enough meat once a year, at Hmong New Year. The narrator has to settle for ice cubes instead of the ice-cream van. But she always shares with her grandmother and receives a toothless smile in return.

When the young girl wants braces for her crooked teeth and the family can’t afford them, her grandmother helps her to see where beauty truly lies.

This is a gorgeously illustrated and intimate view into an immigrant family’s life. Some will find it familiar — many will it find eye-opening.

It's absolutely gorgeous. The Most Beautiful Thing has magic on every page.

A touching story about a granddaughter and her relationship with her grandma, the beauty of the drawings combined with the story being told will sweep you away.

One of the first things I consider is age group recommendation: I would definitely recommend at least school-age. Some of the creatures might be scary for younger children.

That said, this is an absolutely beautifully illustrated book. In fact, some of the creature illustrations are the most beautiful. I love the message of the book--especially in the current troubled world climate. Kalia's Hmong family live modestly, and she grows wary of this--as any young kid does. However, she learns that her family has given her warm memories, love and the gift of imagination. No money can ever replace that. The grandmother character was especially memorable, which leads to a lesson the book imparts: respect for the wisdom of elders. The story of the book is simple enough for children to enjoy, yet timeless enough for adults to enjoy with repeated readings. Recommended.

Don't you just love when a picture book is almost too beautiful to bear?

This review is a bit early, because Kao Kalia Yang's "The Most Beautiful Thing" (Carolrhoda 2020), with its exquisitely beautiful illustrations by Khoa Le, isn't actually being released until October. But this stunning #OwnVoices book about a Hmong immigrant family is so overwhelmingly gorgeous that you're going to want to get ahead of the library waitlists.

It's the story of Kalia's family, who don't have much, but always manage to have just enough, and Kalia's grandmother who lives with them and holds a well-deserved place of special reverence in the family. It's about her grandmother's story, of a hard-lived and extraordinary life. And it's about Kalia herself, who like many children in hard circumstances, wishes for more ... but comes to understand that we can hold space for both dreams of more AND gratitude for what we have.

This book is beyond beautiful. The illustrations alone are so special, and there is a glossary and pronunciation guide to help readers with the scattering of Hmong words that lend authenticity to the story.

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

There was so much love and learning crammed into such a tiny book, and yet the book felt endless and timeless (in a good way). In this book, there's the love between a grandmother and her grandchildren, the story of an immigrant who has lost her family, and learning that even without money we can find the most beautiful treasures all around us if we just look for them.

The illustrations are so colorful and gorgeous, I could easily see framing them and putting them onto my wall.

This book was both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measures, and left me longing for more, which is unusual for most children's books.

Easily 5/5 stars!

A young girl bonds with her Hmong grandmother while chafing against the realities of a large family with little money. This beautiful story features colorfully-detailed illustrations of their everyday life and the grandmother's memories of her homeland, Laos. When the things Kalia wants are too expensive, she finds ways to achieve happiness on a smaller scale.

Beautiful illustrations bring this simple story of hardship to life. An interesting look into an inter-generational family experience and a young girl learning how to deal with having less and still find goodness in what she has and who she is.

The Most Beautiful Thing // by Kao Kalia Yang // illustrated by Khoa Le

I really enjoyed reading this book! It introduces a way of life that may not be familiar to some of our children in a way that is easy to understand but rather than focusing on all the things missing in the family's life, it focuses on the things they do have, showing us that gratitude can completely change our attitudes and emotions. The illustrations are some of the most beautiful children's books illustrations that I have seen. You could take all the text away and still have a treasure on your shelf. The only thing I wish it had was maybe one more page at the end to vocalize the lesson of gratitude a little more obviously for children that may be reading this book on their own.

Lovely. The story follows a pretty clear basic structure, but it still works. It’s the art (!!!) and love and representation that makes this really sing. It shines through and that’s what counts.

I can see this being used in a classroom in so many ways— reflecting on an elder we love who made us who we are (I choose this framing and not ‘family history project’ to be most inclusive for all of our wonderfully diverse kiddos and their fams), body image/ presentation of self lessons, or a reflective prompt like—whats a thing we used to want but have learned something from not having it? Etc. So many beautiful prompts and pieces could come from this book. Of course, integrating geography and vocabulary (Hmong communities and words like refugee) would be important and useful, too. For all these reasons and more this book is a classroom win.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A moving story, stunningly illustrated. Here is an important book, which will help young children understand the hardships of an immigrant family and what is truly important in life. Some may be put off at the grandmother’s very brief mention of evil spirits in the forest. Making do with little, honoring and caring for the aged, the importance of family—these are themes in the book.

What a beautiful biography and so exquisitely illustrated! Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of her grandmother's and her own childhood through the heartfelt narrative of her book. As children, she had very little and her grandmother even less, but here she reveals that the most beautiful thing in life is priceless and could be right in front of your eyes. A sweet picture book memoir with elements of Hmong culture interwoven throughout.

This is a beautiful story. One of the themes that stood out to me was sacrificial love and gratitude for our family members. It's a powerful story that shows the beauty that can come from hardship.

"Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia's story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family's early years in the United States. When Kalia becomes unhappy about having to do without and decides she wants braces to improve her smile, it is her grandmother—a woman who has just one tooth in her mouth—who helps her see that true beauty is found with those we love most."⠀
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This intergenerational story is truly beautiful.⠀
We discover how a Hmong family live and how important family is and should be. ⠀
As a son of refugees, this beautiful story about a granma and one of her granddaughter touches a chord and I wish I could read more stories like this. ⠀
Family is very important for asian people and taking care of our elders has been important in asian traditions and cultures, but things are changing and those traditons tend to get lost these days with the new generations...⠀
I really recommand this lovely story: our elders surely have a complicated life and for those of you whose parents or grandparents weren't originate from the country you live right now, I suggest you take an afternoon to meet and ask them about their stories before it get lost forever.
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Beautiful illustrations by the talented vietnamese artist Khoa Le.⠀
Thank you Netgalley and Carolrhodabooks for sending me this amazing arc book.

Review by @theboyandhisbookshelf

Wonderful and beautiful illustrations. Heartwrenching story. But very inspiring for younger readers.

What a beautifully illustrated and written children’s book about the respect due to our elders, the value in listening to their stories, and the acceptance of ourselves we can find by listening to others. Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy, I look forward to adding this to my children’s collection.

(Book Pub Date: 06 Oct 2020 #TheMostBeauitfulThing #NetGalley)

This beautiful OwnVoices book focuses on family, valuing elders, and self acceptance. It would be an excellent read aloud and class discussion about culture beyond the surface layer of food and clothes. Through the text and gorgeous accompanying illustrations, the reader gets a glimpse into the world of Grandma's youth and the hardships she experienced, as well as the growth of the main character. What a wonderful book to add Hmong representation to your library!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the digital review copy.

"Her smile was the most beautiful thing."

This book feels like a warm hug from my grandmother. It's such a beautiful tale about a young girl from a Hmong-American family and her grandmother. The story is heartwarming and very relatable to fellow Asian diaspora like me. It reminds me of my own grandmother and the stories she used to tell me when I was a child, about her days in the Hainan jungle and the dangers she faced when she escaped from her homeland. The illustration is gorgeous, and it enhanced what the author is trying to convey. Even though technically it's a children's book, I highly recommend this to anyone who longs to rediscover the simple joy and comfort of being with your loved ones.

Tell me, what do you consider being the most beautiful thing?
Is it a palace, an expensive car or maybe a diamond ring?
Kao Kalia Yang shows us that beauty's got nothing to do with what's mentionned above
That it's no matter of money, but simply of being surrounded by family, memories and love

Based on a true story
In this picture book Kao Kalia Yang tells us about her childhood during which there was not much money but an abundance of love.Along with her grandmother - who had to flee Laos as a Hmong refugee - she forms the protagonist of this true life story.

Themes
Although it's commendable that important topics like poverty, Hmong-refugees, … are covered, this has both an up- and a downside.
Because of the large number of topics, none of the themes is discussed in depth. Although that isn't necessary for a children's book, it sometimes results in a lack of background information.
The serious themes are portrayed lifelike, but because of this they may not always be suitable for a younger target group. At least not without the guidance of an adult to provide further clarification.
On the other hand, this book forms a good starter to discover another (and for many people probably an unknown) culture. Especially when a parent or teacher guides the reading.

Hmong
A lot of Hmong-names are used throughout 'The Most Beautiful Thing'. Do you want to know the correct pronuncation? Head over to the following video where Kao Kalia Yang tells it herself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJW_fHjT9IE">this
For those who are not familiar with the Hmong-people, there are lots of interesting resources on the internet:
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/01/10-things-hmong
- https://ethnomed.org/culture/hmong/
- https://www.mnhs.org/hmong/hmong-timeline
- …

Kao Kalia Yang
If you're interested in the story of Kao Kalia Yang and her family, then it's highly recommended to listen to her TED-talk 'The Power in Sharing our Stories': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0KdPwMNbOA!

Khoa Le
Do you want a taste of the drawing style of the illustrator of this book?
She has a website where you can find her portfolio: http://khoale.daportfolio.com/
Be sure to take a look at the section 'picture book' because those pictures really demonstrate her talent for vibrant colour creations: http://khoale.daportfolio.com/gallery/453710

*Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Hmong (pronounced mohng) are an ethnic minority from Southeast Asia that, stating in 1975, came to the United states as refugees of war. This really short graphic novel is about the author’s childhood experience as a refugee. First of all, thank you Khoa Le for the amazing illustrations. They are absolutely stunning and made the story so much better; it added a touch of magic and exoticness. Another thank you to the author for the explanation about how to pronounce the names and what they mean at the beginning of the book, it was very useful. The story is quite nice and I wouldn’t just categorise it as a children’s book. I think everyone can learn a bit from it, from the love it shows. The only negative point is that the ending could have been better, more developed as it felt a bit like an abrupt ending. However, do not let this prevent you from reading this book as it allows you to discover the Hmong minority (that I personally did not know about) and therefore, to diverse your reading. Also, the illustrations: it’s impossible not to love them.