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Hundred Years of Happiness

Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A stunning debut, showcasing the love between grandparents and grandchildren, the challenges of memory loss, and the joy that sweet reminders of a faraway home can bring, from award-winning, bestselling author Thanhhà Lại.

This sweet and emotional picture book will resonate with readers who love A Big Mooncake for Little Star, Ladder to the Moon, and Thank You, Omu!

An's grandmother Bà sometimes gets trapped in her cloudy memories. An and her grandfather, Ông, come up with a plan to bring her back to a happy moment: they grow gấc fruits so they can make xôi gấc, Bà's favorite dish from her wedding in Việt Nam many years ago.

An and Ông work together in the garden, nurturing the gấc seeds. They must be patient and wait for the seeds to grow, flower, and turn into fruit. When the xôi gấc is finally ready, An is hopeful that her grandmother will remember her wedding wish with Ông: hundred years of happiness.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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    • School Library Journal

      Starred review from April 1, 2022

      K-Gr 3-An's grandmother, B�, can no longer remember. An spends time after school with B�, feeding her sweet fruit and singing a forgotten song about a baby elephant. An's grandfather, �ng, is devoted to his wife, thinking of ways to remind her of herself. Enlisting An's help, �ng plants seeds, hoping to grow the vines that will render the special fruit used in Vietnamese sticky rice. This dish holds a special place in the family history, as it was eaten at the couple's long-ago wedding as family wished them a "Hundred Years of Happiness." An and �ng lovingly tend their vines, eventually rewarded with the prickly orange fruit. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, B� is presented with the rich, red treat. For a moment, and only a moment, B�'s memory rises to the surface. While An is disappointed, �ng is ready to start again, if only to recover one more small moment. The illustrations are soft and lovely, connecting the family's journey to the growth of the lush green vines. The bittersweet sorrow of watching a loved one deal with memory loss is palpable in the lyrical text but ultimately the story celebrates every moment of joy. VERDICT At once a lifelong love story between husband and wife, a tribute to the sweetness of multigenerational connections, and a celebration of Vietnamese cultural traditions and cuisine, this title should find a home in every collection.-Alyssa Annico

      Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      April 15, 2022
      Preschool-Grade 2 In this story of an intergenerational Vietnamese family, An and her grandfather go through the laborious process of cultivating fruit to try to revive her grandmother's memories, which are fading due to dementia. They plant the seeds of orange-red melons called g�c fruits, with the goal of making grandmother's favorite dish from her wedding, g�c sticky rice. There's a chance that eating it will help her remember her wedding wish for 100 years of happiness. They soak seeds, grow the vines, and wait months for fruit to ripen. Cooking isn't easy, either. But when it's ready, a bite brings grandmother a flood of memories--that soon fade. An and her grandfather start the process anew. The vivid and emotional illustrations bring to life the tender relationship between An and her grandparents. This tale of hard work to achieve a brief moment of hope, woven in with the story of the life cycle of g�c vines, will be a special one for young readers, inviting them to meditate on the arc of life--and the deliciousness of sticky rice.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Quyen Ngo narrates this poignant story of a girl's loving relationship with her Vietnamese grandparents. An's grandmother, B�, suffers from progressive memory loss. To help disentangle her memories, An's grandfather, Ong, encourages B�'s memory by using photographs and other reminders of their many happy years together. Listeners follow An and Ong as they prepare a special surprise, growing gac fruit plants from seeds to make x�i gac, one of B�'s favorite foods from her wedding day. Ngo captures the story's visual imagery in a clear, expressive voice and enhances the narration with her authentic pronunciation of Vietnamese names and words. This is a thought-provoking listen for family or classroom discussion. It includes a pdf of the x�i gac sticky rice recipe narrated by Ngo. S.A.A. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 30, 2022
      When An’s Vietnamese grandmother starts to lose her memory, and sometimes doesn’t recognize her grandchild, La∙i centers the family’s efforts to rekindle Bà’s memories in this moving story. To do so, they gather gâ´c fruit—the key ingredient in xôi gâ´c, a sticky rice dish that was served at Bà’s wedding to Ông, where their relatives wished them “hundred years of happiness.” Accompanied by Quang and Liên’s luminous digital scenes, the gentle lines interweave descriptions of Ông and Bà’s life in Vietnam with tender moments of the family navigating Bà’s apparent dementia. When the xôi gâ´c temporarily has the desired effect on Bà’s memories, La∙i expressively relies on metaphor to communicate the family’s joy: “An feels as if a firecracker might flare out her mouth and explode.” Balancing sorrow and hope, the gentle storytelling on display in this book results in a truly sweet conclusion. An author’s note and xôi gâ´c recipe concludes. Ages 4–8.

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  • English

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