The Have a Good Day Cafe

by Frances Park, Ginger Park, Katherine Potter

Early each morning Mike and his family drive to the city with their food cart. They sell bagels and orange juice for breakfast, hot dogs and pizza for lunch. Mike passes the time by drawing pictures, and Grandma sits in the shade, fanning herself and missing life back home in Korea. One day two other food carts show up on the family’s street corner, and all three carts serve the same American foods. During the summer business dwindles away, and Mike’s worried parents start thinking about giving up their cart. Finally Mike comes up with the idea of serving Korean food from their cart, and with the help of Grandma, the family finds a new way to feel at home in America. Brimming with love and warmth, The Have a Good Day Cafe is a tribute to the resourcefulness of new immigrants everywhere. Readers will be delighted by this mouth-watering celebration of family and culture.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Asian American, Food, Asian Literature, Cultural, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

I grew up in an era when the U.S. Census Bureau need only come to my family's house to get a total head count of Koreans in my ‘burb. That reality is often reflected in fourteen books by publishers big and small for readers young and old.

BLUE RICE (Vine Leaves Press/June 2024) is a timely tale of a young woman from northern Korea who takes what fate deals her following the Korean War, including her acclimation to 1960s America when her husband deserts her.

On the horizon is a children's book SUKA'S FARM (Albert Whitman/March 2025), a testament to a hungry Korean boy's desire to feed his family during the Japanese Occupation.

THE SUMMER MY SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON (Heliotrope NYC/Sept 2023) is a revised and streamlined version of a novel originally published in 2000, long before the era of K-Pop and K-Dramas. A quarter century later, the Oscars have proven that stories about the Asian American experience have certainly come to light, and that audiences are receptive. That said, playing in my mind like vintage footage, I was always hoping that somehow, someday, I could bring the Moon family back to life, sisters Marcy and Cleo cruising around in that yellow Mustang on their way to Taco Town in the summer of '76. And here it is!

Other works include GRANDPA'S SCROLL (Albert Whitman/May 2023), my sixth co-authored children's book with sister Ginger, my includes my memoir THAT LONELY SPELL: STORIES OF FAMILY, FRIENDS & LOVE (Heliotrope NYC/2022) and CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE: THE TRUE STORY OF TWO SISTERS, TONS OF TREATS, AND THE LITTLE SHOP THAT COULD (Thomas Dunne/ 2011), Shorter works - stories and essays - have appeared in O: The Oprah Magazine, The Chicago Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, The London Magazine, Pleaides, Spirituality & Health Magazine, OZY, Slice, Folio, Gulf Coast Journal, and Arts & Letters, to name a few. One work earned a spot on THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2017 Notable List.

More co-authored and highly-praised children's books include MY FREEDOM TRIP: A CHILD'S ESCAPE TO NORTH KOREA (Boyds Mills Press/1998), winner of The International Reading Association Award; THE ROYAL BEE (Boyds Mills Press/2000), winner of The Joan B. Sugarman Award; and GOOD-BYE, 382 SHIN DANG DONG (National Geographic Children’s Books/2002), described by Newsweek magazine as "the perfect all-American story".

I've been interviewed on 'Good Morning America', CNN, the Diane Rehm Show, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and NPR.

When I'm not in writing mode, I'm at Chocolate Chocolate, a sweet boutique in Washington, DC breaking bonbons with customers. Books + Chocolate = A Dream Life!

Visit me at www.parksisters.com.

Reviews

[Emilie Øster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
This book is about a boy called Mike and his parents who are from Korea but now live in the United States. One day the grandmother came to the US to live with them. She really misses Korea and is having a hard time getting used to live in another country. Mike’s parents have a food cart in the city, but suddenly they get more competition and loses costumers. Then Mike and her grandmother suggest a plan to help with the food cart business. They start to make Korean food to sell in the food cart and then more customers are coming, and the business are going well again. The grandmother starts to feel better by doing something meaningful, and then she is feeling more at home.

Themes:
Family, daydreaming, cultural diversity, affiliation, occupation, solution-oriented, immigration

Personal response:
I think it was a cute story about this Korean family and how they helped each other solve the problem. I also liked how the grandmother suddenly feels more home when she was doing something meaningful like cooking food as she loves. At the same time, I think this book might does produce some stereotypes of people from Korea and how they must be working in a food cart and selling food from their own home country. Therefore, this dilemma could create a discussion about stereotypes created in books.

Recommendation:
This book could be used in a classroom with younger students to learn more about Korean culture and how it might will feel like to move from something familiar to something unknown. Other than that, this book could also be used to learn how the business changes as a result of competition and how business owners can influence consumers’ tastes and preferences. The older students could read the book with a more critical stance to start a conversation about stereotypes and immigration.

[Salena Palacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this story because it shows that as a family you can solve a problem if you work together. The topic of this book is resourcefulness and diversity. This book is about a Korean boy who can notices that his grandmother, who is new to America from Korea, daydreams a lot about memories from her life in Korea. One memory she has is when her son, Mike's dad, would help her make dumplings when he was Mike's age. She would put one of the dumplings over her mouth to make it look like she was smiling. He would always laugh when she did that. Mike's parents have a food cart business that sells American food that isn't doing well because other carts are selling the same thing. Mike and his grandmother come up with and idea to help their business. They decide to make food from Korea to sell, something different that no other cart will have. So everyday grandma and Mike come up with the menu for the next day and help make the food. This now gives grandma purpose and she feels like she is contributing to the family. The intended audience for this story is 5 to 8 year olds. I would use this as a Read Aloud and then tell the class that we are starting a food cart business. We would decide as a class what foods we would like to sell and students would make a menu and come up with a name for our cart.

[Georgina Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply touching story of a little boy and his grandmother sharing their favorite recipes. The story reflects upon the experience of a Korean American family selling meals from their food cart. There is a brief mention of first generation and second generation differences between the older generation that remembers the home country of Korea and the newer generation that put up roots in the United States. Mike loves his family and he has always very supportive of his grandmother who feels homesick for Korea, but cooking their favorite dishes reinforces their connection to their culture and to each other. When Mike’s parents struggle to get enough customers for their business, Mike and his grandma come up with a clever plan. Not only do the special dishes reflect the family’s connection to their home culture but they also serve to bring all the people in their community together. The illustrations have soft colors pleasing to the eye. Destined to become a family favorite. The story is a celebration of family, cooking and community which resonates with readers from all cultures. Bonus points for the diverse representation of all the characters. The end of the book features a glossary with pictures and Korean words for rice soup (guk bap), marinated beef (bulgogi) and other dishes to make your mouth water!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sweet story, told through the eyes of a boy, about settling in a new country, nostalgia for one's country of origin, innovating through one's own culture. The authors did a realistic job capturing the uncertainty in everyday life and feeling slim margins between success and failure in the immigrant experience. Also wonderful use of Korean food to weave the story.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike and his Korean-American family sell American food from a cart in the park but when other vendors set up carts with the same foods, grandmother decides to make some of her Korean favorites instead!
Includes a glossary of Korean words & foods mentioned in the story.

Read / supplemented our LA/GEO Korean unit with this and a few other similar picture books.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story about family and how people can come together to help solve a problem. This is a great text to use when teaching young students how to identify problems and solutions within a story.

[Jane Huws · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've read this book several times. It's a lovely story, about recognising value of the elderly and their skills and knowledge, a family working together and how an immigrants life isn't easy.
It has such a happy vibe and a happy ending.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was recommended because of the personal finance tie-in, but it also has a really good tie-in for diversity, which we extended in an AI talk on Khanmigo with a ruler from Korea (where the grandmother in the book is from).

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike and his family sell food from a cart in the city. One day in the city, two other food carts show up on the family’s street corner. The other carts start to taker Mike’s family's business. Mike’s family's culture is intertwined throughout the story through grandma sharing her daydreams from back in Korea. Mike and his grandma find a way to bring the business back. This is a good book to show about some of the challenges that immigrants might face such as struggling to find income and missing their home country.

[Jolene Gutiérrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandma has recently moved to the United States to live with Mike and his family. Mom and Dad work hard every day selling foods like pizza and bagels from their food cart. When other carts move in selling the same type of food, Grandma and Mike save the day by making Korean foods like chop chae, bulgogi, mandoo, jijim, and bibim bap. They rename their car the "Have a Good Day Cafe," and this coupled with the new menu results in lots of new business! The backmatter includes definitions of the Korean words used in the story. This beautiful family story is sure to make you both happy and hungry! Highly recommended for classrooms, homes, and libraries.

[Yusra Faridi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character in this story, Mike, gets really worried whenever he finds his grandmother reminiscing about her good memories of Korea. One day his grandmother insists that she will come with the family to help set up their food stand. However, the family is saddened when they see all the competition that has moved in near their food stand, and they notice that their business is slowly going down. It all changes when Mike suggests that they change up their menu a little; instead of serving hot dogs and pizza, Mike decides him and his grandmother will prepare traditional Korean food to offer to their customers the following day. His plan succeeds and they come up in top once again as they regain their customers and their business. This book is great to use in the classroom because it serves more than one purpose. Not only does it teach about the Korean culture and a little about their food, but it also teaches a deeper message that sometimes standing out is more beneficial than just fitting in with everyone else. This book can also be considered a very authentic piece about Korean culture because the authors Frances and Ginger Park are also from South Korea. All though the illustrations don't really stand out to me as anything extraordinary, I think this book can serve other purposes like introducing readers to Korean food dishes such as bulgogi, chop chae, bibim bap, and more mentioned in the story!

[Tibby]

This was a really sweet story featuring a family business and three generations. The ending is maybe a wee bit unrealistic, but children will appreciate that it’s Mike, the boy, who figures out how to save his family’s food cart business.

One thing I particularly like about this book is that it shows a Korean family looking like any other family. They live in contemporary America and look like it. Even the grandmother doesn’t wear traditional clothing which makes the family look like the Korean families I know and that might read this book. They don’t look like immigrants or some “other” that is exotic and intended to be gawked at. The story does encourage embracing your own culture, but could just as easily be read as encouraging sharing your culture.

I know it can be dicey to teach culture through food, but I think it’s a really great way to get kids interested so long as you continue to delve more deeply into the culture. The Have a Good Day Cafe would be a great start to looking at Korean food and culture. It would also be a great book to trot out at Grandparents Day, a holiday our school celebrates.

I added this one to our summer reading lists and will be adding it to the collection in the fall. I am hoping our second grade uses it with their Asian cultures study, but it would make a great read aloud. The length probably makes it better for a group of first or second graders, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be shared with younger kids.

[Ferdye Bamaca-forkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy's Korean grandmother comes to live with them in America.Mike's grandmother is always thinking and dreaming of her life back in Korea. Mike's family owns a food cart that they bring out and park at the corner of the park. They sell Bagels, OJ, Hot Dogs, chips, soda and pizza at their cart. Soon other carts come and sell the same kinds of things that Mike's family's cart sells. With too much competition they sell less food and wonder what they can keep their cart.

One evening while cooking dinner with his grandmother they come up with a terrific idea, Grandma and Mike get up early and make Korean food and when his parents wake up they tell them that today we have a new menu, we're going to sell Korean food today. Mike draws a sign that says Have a good Day Cafe for their food cart.

I like on the very last page they teach about the Korean Words in this story. They show the Korean writing and also how to pronounce the words as well as the Korean dishes. Overall, this book introduces a new language and culture to students and how immigration in general might feel.

[Jaimie Hong · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Mike's grandmother comes from Korea to live with Mike's family. Mike notices that his grandmother feels homesick and tries his best to comfort her. While reading this book, I noticed how the illustrations are well drawn so the children are able to read and follow along with the pictures if they cannot read well.It is also quite accurate with the plot and the characters in the story. This book also portrays the Korean lifestyle well (I am also Korean). It is not generalized and it portrays an immigrant life well because immigrants do get very homesick when they first arrive, just like Mike's grandmother.

Genre: realistic fiction

[Karina Espinales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book because the main character notices that his grandmother is homesick. He goes out of his way to make his grandmother feel like she is home. It is a great book to show the students the importance of family. The students can write about a family member that does not live with them but visits them. The students will also learn words from a different language too.

[Allison]

A book about a Korean family who immigrated to the States. The story is from the boy's point of view and discusses the struggles they are going through as a family and with the business. He finds a way to help his family's business with the help of his grandmother by mixing his culture into it to create a unique, blooming business as well as helping the grandmother with her home sickness.

[Ted Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be effective on at least two level. First, it would serve as a intro into the economic concept of supply and demand. Second, due to the fact that the story is about a Korean family, it would be a good multiculture book that talks about the culture of the people of Korea.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story about a Korean American family trying to make a living with a food cart, and how grandma from Korea makes it a success.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another jewel to share one and all!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about a child that helpos his family transition from a American food stand to a Korean food stand. Teaches children to embrace their own culture.

[Heather Edrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be good for introducing supply and demand to young children.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book introducing the economic concept of competition. Multicultural with a Korean family. Hard Korean words to pronounce.

[Stacy Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book about a family coming together to make their business work.. Grandmother learns to love her new country.

[Heather Ligman · Rating 3 out of 5]

back of book has definition of korean words used in the book. book discusses different foods made in korea. book could be used for comparing foods in different countries.

[Ashley Greenfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about a young boy trying to help his family adjust to America. A good book to use when introducing culture.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bulgogi. Bibimbap. Korean cooking kicks taste buds!