Lily’s Hong Kong Honey Cake
When Lily is three, she and her family leave Austria and their bakery because of harassment against Jews. They eat their honey cakes on a ship. In 1940, when she is four, and for several more years, Lily celebrates Rosh Hashanah at their new bakery in Shanghai with honey cakes. At age eight, there is little food and no cake. When Lily is nine, the family leaves Shanghai for Hong Kong, where they live in a crowded hotel as refugees. At ten, on Rosh Hashanah, Lily helps the hotel chef make honey cakes, even without honey.
Full-page spreads show each year of Lily’s early life, on Rosh Hashanah. The language and content are repetitive in word or concept—cleverly done, showing that even when things change, some things remain the same. The war and deprivation are hinted at, but the bright colors show the hope and love of Lily’s family. End pages include a map of the fictional Lily’s journey, and detailed information about the Jewish diaspora to Asia. An enjoyable, inspiring story. Ages 3-8.
