Karina Yan Glaser, best known for the seven-volume Vanderbeekers series (The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street), gloriously connects Han Yu in 731 Chang'An and Luli Lee of Lower Manhattan in 1931 in The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli.
At 11, Han Yu is unlike his accomplished older three siblings. His only certainty is his remarkable rapport with animals, which makes his "community [see] him as somewhat of an oddity." When a mysterious, rapidly spreading illness traps his family in quarantine, Han Yu bravely decides to take on his merchant father's trade route--a 650 li (202 miles) journey to Tianshui. Along the way, three magpies, two camels, one dog, the young poet Du Fu, and a tiger Han Yu can't see (but others can) become loyal companions.
In NYC's Chinatown, 11-year-old Luli's parents are facing foreclosure on 59 Mott Street, home to their Jade Palace Restaurant, Quong's Silk Roads Gift Shop, and multiple tenants all struggling with economic disaster. When the restaurant becomes unsustainable, Luli valiantly creates a food cart where her ingenuity proves limitless.
Alternating between the centuries, Glaser deftly intertwines parallel experiences that highlight the power of family and friendship to overcome unforeseen dangers. Glaser's plotting is seamless, with hints expertly inserted to allow readers to eventually, rewardingly connect the two narratives. Her own spot illustrations whimsically interrupt her text with everyday items, flora, and fauna. Her illuminating author's note provides a trove of additional personal and historical provenance--how this book "began with dim sum" and spread into a deeper understanding of connections, past, present, and future. --Terry Hong