Description:
Sometimes after school, you have baseball practice. Sometimes, you go for pizza. Sometimes, your parents drop a bomb so significant your entire life explodes - like "We're moving to Tokyo in four weeks."
This is how it all began for my protagonist, Jacob, a smart, snarky, thirteen-year-old struggling with the most significant change in his life - a sudden relocation from the familiar Seattle suburbs to wild and bustling Tokyo.
In Trading Pizza for Ramen, Jacob and his twin siblings Dylan and Lily, have one summer vacation, three months, to figure out how to survive in Tokyo before school starts. From shrines to forests, arcades to onsens, ramen shops to baseball games, Jacob makes sure the fun never stops, typically at the detriment of a younger sibling or parent.
In sixteen chapters, 158 pages and 28,000 words, Jacob goes from hating everything about Tokyo to finding friends, food, and purpose in his new home.
Brief description: From the backwoods of British Columbia to the busy streets of Tokyo, Brenda is as comfortable starting a campfire as she is navigating the largest city in the world. Her favourite award? One from the Tokyo Azabu Fire Department for putting out a street fire she discovered as a teenager.Brenda always wanted to be a writer and built her career as a copywriter, Creative Director, and marketing lead. Her favourite job is the one she has right now; writing children's books and being the CMO of her own company. Her proudest moment was starting her company, Award Pool with her husband Reuven and three kids. When she's not writing, Brenda is snuggling with her dog, practicing Japanese, painting abstractly, or baking for family and friends.She lives by the motto "You'll never regret being kind" and believes a walk in the forest can solve writing blocks and dampened spirits. Brenda is a proud Third Culture Kid (TCK) and works hard to bring multiculturalism into everything she does. Honest, creative, and kind, Brenda wants to make the world a little better for everyone around her.If you and Brenda just met, she'll invite you to dinner, carefully plan a feast that reflects your potential friendship. She'll ask you all sorts of strange questions at dinner to find out more about your background and interests. Then she'll share some wild stories about her experiences, travels, successes, and failures. That night, when you get home and put your feet up, you'll remember that business idea you want to try, and suddenly it won't feel out of reach. You'll feel confident and curious. Brenda's goal is to nurture creativity, adventure, and innovation in others
Review Quotes:
"Ohayo! It's summer in Tokyo and thirteen year old Jacob is not happy about it. But middle grade readers will be as they watch him struggle with the language, the culture, the food, and the many weirdnesses of this new world. Jacob's funny and perceptive observations will resonate, and readers will feel as if they've been there themselves. A terrific read for the 8-12 crowd."
- Margaret Meacham, Author of over 15 Children's Books including The Ghosts of Laurelford, The Survival of Sarah Landing, A Fairy's Guide to Living with Humans, Oyster Moon, and Secret of Heron Creek.
"This wonderful read brought back many happy memories of our four years living in Tokyo. Each day gave my family new and exciting memories to cherish. But I imagine that we also left the Japanese with many shocking memories of us and our American culture. One such memory was that of the gaijin (us) putting milk and sugar into our morning rice. " - Loralie Parks, Retired School Teacher