About this item
The first book in a new chapter book series featuring a spunky Japanese-American heroine!Eight-year-old Jasmine Toguchi is a flamingo fan, tree climber, and top-notch mess-maker! She's also tired of her big sister, Sophie, always getting to do things first. For once, Jasmine wishes SHE could do something before Sophie -- something special, something different. The New Year approaches, and as the Toguchi family gathers in Los Angeles to celebrate, Jasmine is jealous that her sister gets to help roll mochi balls by hand with the women. Her mom says that Jasmine is still too young to join in, so she hatches a plan to help the men pound the mochi rice instead. Surely her sister has never done THAT before. But pounding mochi is traditionally reserved for boys.
About the Author
Author of the middle grade books: KEEP IT TOGETHER KEIKO CARTER and JUST BE COOL, JENNA SAKAI, SWEET AND SOUR, and the upcoming THIS IS HOW I ROLL (January 2023/Scholastic) . KEEP IT TOGETHER KEIKO CARTER is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a New England Book Award finalist, and a Project LIT 2020-21 Book Club selection. Kirkus Reviews gave JUST BE COOL JENNA SAKAI (an Amazon Editor's Choice Pick) a starred review and says it is "...complex as is delightful. "Also the author of the chapter book series Jasmine Toguchi about a spunky Japanese American 8yo girl. Four new Jasmine Toguchi books coming in '22 - '23! First up, BRAVE EXPLORER (10/18/22) ! Available now: Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen; Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth; Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl; and Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper (FSG/207 and 2018) . Jasmine Toguchi Mochi Queen was a Junior Library Guild selection, Amazon's Best Children's Books of 2017, a Bank Street 2018 Best Children's Books of the Year, on the 2018 Amelia Bloomer List, and on The Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) 2018 Choices List (Best of the Year) . Jasmine Toguchi Drummer Girl is a 2019 Cybils Award winner, a Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award winner, a Junior Library Guild selection, on the CCBC 2019 Choices List, and on the Chicago Public Library's Best Of list. Co-wrote the picture book biography NIKI NAKAYAMA: A CHEF'S TALE IN 13 BITES with Jamie Michalak, art by Yuko Jones. This book received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and Booklist. A third generation Japanese American, a native Californian, and former classroom teacher and zoo educator. For more information, please see author's website.
