A Spoonful of the Sea

A child learns about the history of miyeok-guk and haenyeo in a delicately rendered tale that honors both Korean matriarchal traditions. As the book opens, its young narrator expresses dissatisfaction that—instead of desired strawberry cake or chocolate cupcakes—“Mom makes me birthday soup.” Prepared with miyeok, it “tastes like the sea” and it is eaten while Mom offers up a story. The parent explains that “You had this soup every birthday when you were four, three, two, and one years old.// And I had it every day for a month after you were born”—just like previous generations’ mothers, each shown cradling infants on successive pages. The tender, time-spanning narrative next turns to the family history of haenyeo, one of whom, “many mothers ago,” saw a whale eating seaweed after birthing young. Soft, signature-style illustrations from Yum (Toto) build to a moving spread of a whale and generations of haenyeo swimming in the bowl of soup, lovingly linking mothers across species and decades. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary. (Sept.)