What an amazing story, and the illustrations are unlike any I have seen in children's books. I would love to see this get recognition as a Caldecott nominee!! I recently learned of Haenyeo, women divers in Korea who carry on a tradition that goes back many generations. The history of seaweed soup is fascinating, and I love the mother-daughter connections.

I highly recommend this book for schools, libraries, mothers and daughters. This was one of my favorite picture books of the year!

What a beautiful celebration of mothers, daughters, history, and Korean tradition.

Our story starts with a little girl's fifth birthday. Instead of a cake or cupcakes, her mother brings her a bowl of briny seaweed soup; what a disappointment! But her mother soon explains the centuries-old tradition of miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) given to mothers to celebrate birth, and how the tradition started after one of the haenyeo (sea women who ventured deep into the ocean to collect things like shells, clams, octopus, and seaweed) came across a new mother whale eating seaweed.

This is a heartfelt story with gorgeous illustrations - the art of the whale and grandmothers in her bowl of miyeok-guk is now a new favorite! Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Spoonful of the Sea (Hardcover)
by Hyewon Yum
A multicultural book. This book shows that sometimes our cultural practices in our family has a hidden meaning. The young daughter is sad she has to eat homemade seaweed soup for her birthday. Until her mother shares the wonderful family story that connects the family to the sea. A great way to show children that learning the history of their family makes the things they do special.
The water color artwork is phenomenal and adds to the cultural aspect to the story. Showing children things were not always as they are now.