Becoming Boba

PreS-Gr 2–Through the metaphor of milk tea, Ho offers readers a glimpse into what some first-generation Americans might experience, told through an adorable and colorful cast of boba beverages. In Milk Tea Town, everyone is the same from their similar shades of brown to their quality ingredients and milk tea flavor. It is a town where tradition is highly valued and nothing changes. When Mindy comes along, she isn’t like the others. Instead of a shade of brown, she is pink-, green-, and white-striped. As there are other young milk teas just like her who also do not look like milk teas of tradition, the grown-ups in town are worried that their town will be ruined. Mindy decides to learn how to be more milk tea. In doing so, she and her friends show the town that there’s a lot more to milk tea than any of them could have imagined. Some readers will be introduced to milk tea for the first time, while others will enjoy reading a book about their favorite treat. Many children in immigrant families may relate to Mindy’s struggles of not feeling like she’s enough, and the desire to feel closer to their cultures while also trying to embrace the aspects of themselves that make them individuals. Though these messages may seem heavy and complicated, the use of milk tea and eye-catching illustrations makes the story easy to understand for a picture book audience while also leaving room for deeper conversations as they grow.