This is a heartwarming children's book about a family in America who have moved home. They are opening a restaurant, and the Mum asks her daughter June to look at the lucky cat she has found. June loves the lucky cat, and she is amazed when it comes to life. Unfortunately it hinders more than it helps, which means the family need to try lots of different businesses until they find the one that works for them.

The illustrations in the book are beautiful, and my daughter and I enjoyed looking at them. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A girl is excited to find that another family left behind a lucky cat, but it turns out not to be so fortunate, and lots of silly things happen. Eventually, they realized they were lucky to have the cat. Not a fan of romanticizing, or leaving a pet behind.

(My netgalley copy expired but the library I work for purchased this title at my request.)
Lucky Cat is a special book, written during a time when hate against the Asian American community is at an unfortunate high. Books like this go a long way to helping little kids start to understand that all are equal and no one should be treated differently.
The art work is as magical as the tale it tells. I loved seeing glimpses into June's life and family!

Mama, Baba and June are starting a new life in their new home. They purchased a shop and plan to open a sushi restaurant. Mama and Baba are excited when they find a ‘Lucky Cat’ statue that was left behind. They are sure it will bring them luck. That night June discovers that Lucky Cat comes alive at night and is excited that maybe her parents are right. However, Lucky Cat causes all kinds of chaos and not only the sushi business, but any business they try has issues and ends up closing. They never give up and keep trying, but don't find the right niche until June suggests something. They work hard together and finally have a successful business. This is an interesting story encompassing Chinese culture. The family has moved from China for a new life. I found it interesting that the businesses they tried were not necessarily tied to their culture, until the one that actually succeeded. The message of hard work helping achieve success is built into the story. I enjoyed reading this one to my grandchildren. The illustrations were cute, large and colourful and added to the story. The story was written and illustrated by a group of young women who host the podcast, Asian Boss Girl.

Lucky Cat is a moving, relatable, and easy-to-follow story about an immigrant family’s new life in America and the lucky cat statue who helps them. I love Eunice Chen’s lively and colourful illustrations as well as the AsianBossGirl authors’ timeless messages about hope, perseverance, and family.

June and her family have moved to America to begin a new life. The family is opening a sushi restaurant when Mama discovers a Lucky Cat statue which was left behind by the previous owners. This Lucky Cat is supposed to bring good luck to their business, and when she comes alive to help June out, things seem to be looking up. However, despite Lucky Cat’s best attempts to help, all she does is cause more problems. As the family’s ventures continuously fail, it seems that Lucky Cat may not be that lucky after all! However, June soon learns some valuable and important life lessons about luck, family love, and resilience.

I was so moved by this lovely story! It is heartwarming, uplifting, and relatable. The authors wonderfully avoid being cheesy or preachy. I love the highlighting of Asian culture with those delicious-looking baos as well as the Lucky Cat statue. I also appreciate the insight into new immigrant life.

The narrative is simple but well-written and easy-to-follow. I appreciate the book’s extremely relevant themes like the value of hard work and resilience as well as the importance of family and friendship. The wonderful and loving family relationship is one of my favourite aspects of this book. Adorable June is helpful and dedicated and I enjoyed watching her learn and grow. Baba and Mama are also great–I especially love Mama’s optimism and perseverance.

Chen’s art is so pretty and colourful! I adore Lucky Cat the most! She is drawn so cutely with her happy face and a beautifully vibrant white glow! I love how much she loves the family’s baos (me too, sis.) Lucky Cat’s interactions with June are particularly funny and cute–I loved watching them clean the sushi restaurant together and I just laughed out loud at them helping out in the laundromat!



🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱 out of 5 lucky cats!

I loved reading Lucky Cat! Following June & her family was a great experience, with a beautiful message translated by AsianBoss Girl's words and Eunice Chen's illustrations.

I definitely recommend this book!
I'm grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity & I want to thank Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the preview.

A magical cat statue that is supposed to bring good luck, seems to have just the opposite effect on June's family as they struggle to find their feet in the business world.

I wish I could have read this one with the eyes of a child instead of an adult, as I couldn't understand how the family found the capital to open business after failing business. I also don't believe in blaming one's problems on luck. BUT, the story is sweet, there's a happy ending, and I LOVED the illustrations by Eunice Chen.

The kid in me gives it four stars.

The adult is looking for a good bao recipe.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an arc of this book.

This was quite cute, especially the cat! I also liked the message at the end, which was a bit different than I expected but in a good way!

Lucky Cat is not lucky at everything, He loves his family and wants to help them, but he's not very graceful.
Francis Lincoln Children's Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can find a copy now.

Lucky Cat keeps messing up all the family's efforts at creating a new business. The little girl yells at him and he hides.

Despite all their failures, she suggest they make the biscuits and try selling them. The family loves them.

And, guess what? People line up around the block to get theirs!

Then she goes looking for the cat and finds him and makes up for yelling at him.

Now they have a Lucky Cat again...

A story of perseverance, love and the strength of family.

A young girl, June, and her parents have recently moved to a new home and a new city. They work together to find a way to make it work as a family, trying various businesses. With a bit of help from a magical lucky cat and a lot of work from the family, they soon find their way.

What an absolutely adorable children’s book with even cuter illustrations. Lucky Cat is a sure hit for all ages!

“Next time you see a lucky cat remember the real reason its lucky. Behind each one is a family, just like yours, working hard for a better tomorrow.”

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Read this one to my kids and we all enjoyed it. We liked the story and the pictures are bright. Thank you to the publisher and authors for a copy.

June is moving to the United States from China with her Mama & Baba. Though she has her parents alongside her, she cannot help but feel apprehensive; everything is changing & it becomes difficult for June to know where things are headed—life is so full of uncertainty. However, luck seems to be on their side as a Maneki-Neko (Lucky Cat) is sitting on the counter of the building they hope will help them prosper in this new adventure.
 
What Eunice Chen brings to the illustrations is heart. June is a little girl who could have been any of us in our youth & is most certainly any number of children picking this book off the self. The neighbourhood welcomes readers with the presentation of strangers with critical opinions & reminds them that criticism can be constructive if said & taken in the right way. Beautiful colours strengthen this story to make it one that lingers in the mind as a kindness.
 
What June learns is that, as much as one can rely on luck, or hope that luck is on their side, sometimes things don’t work out. We might have the very best of intentions or the greatest drive to see a project succeed but, for whatever reason, it might fail. Becoming acquainted with these lessons is difficult for June & her parents. They were so eager to come abroad & endeavour to make a new life for themselves but everything they try flunks.

No matter the circumstances of June’s family in their home country, I appreciated the imagery that their various business attempts brought to this story. Certainly, this family arrived in a different country with the hopes of making it their home & the reader is privy to all the dedication & effort that each character puts forth in order to make their dream a reality. Every broom sweep & curtain hung brings June & her parents closer to the goal of bringing joy to their new community.
 
I can certainly appreciate how difficult it must have been for June to feel cheated by Lucky Cat. As adults, I would wager to say that we have all felt a bit cheated, once in a while, by the tides turning in a direction we were unprepared or unwilling to ride into. To trust in the process of trial & error without degrading ourselves is something that is of the utmost importance, for all. We each deserve the kindness to find our way whether luck is on our side, or not.
 
Ultimately, after some time spent sitting with each other & moments taken to reflect & realign their goals & priorities, the family finds the niche that works best for them. There are so many positive aspects to take from this story & we are all better off for reminding ourselves of them. Young readers will be greeted with fantastic imagery that transports their imagination to the city where Maneki-Neko comes to life—similarly to how it feels when you know you’ve got a clover in your pocket.

I am so glad that June & her family were able to find their way through effort, with support from each other, hopefulness, big dreams, & a special Lucky Cat to guide them on their journey.
 
Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Melody Cheng, Janet Wang, & Helen Wu for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

It was believed that a statue of Lucky Cat also known as the <i>maneki-neko</i>, brings good luck to its owner. June's family was happy to find that their new place had one, an abandoned Sushi restaurant they moved in after migrating to America. As June's parents said, "Lucky Cat...bring families good luck [and] are magic."
June learned Lucky Cat wasn't that lucky. Yes, it's magical but more of a trouble than anything. Despite not knowing how to run a sushi place correctly, a laundromat, and a coffee shop, June and her parents tried their best to cater to the customers. However, all the mishaps and trouble it caused forced their family to close one business after another. Was it Lucky Cat misbehaving or guiding them back to their roots? As June realizes, there's something that only they can do better, something they brought from home, something that helps them thrive in the new country.
This short picture book addresses the struggles and hardships of all families who left their motherland and migrated to a new place in the hope of providing a better future for their children. It also shows that a little imagination and being proud of your heritage may just as well be what brings luck.

A sweet story about a family trying to make a fresh start in a new location. Mixed feelings on this book, though it is quite nice in its intent.

Mama, Baba and June “have a new home” and they are planning to open a sushi restaurant. In their new premises, they spot a ‘Lucky Cat’ statue, and the parents are convinced it will bring them good luck. June is the only disbeliever. However, when Lucky Cat comes to life at night, June becomes excited and wonders if her parents were right. The next few months, however, dash all their hopes. Not just the sushi business, but many other businesses they begin all get closed soon. Finally, June hits upon what business they should actually try, and she knows that they can’t count on luck but need to work hard. Will this new venture succeed as per their dreams?

In many ways this is a good story. While the blurb specifies that the family has newly shifted to America; there are some “photographs” at the start (before the story begins) to show the family’s airplane journey; and the ‘bao’ and ‘lucky cat’ references make it clear that they are of Chinese origin, the content itself doesn’t set any such restrictions. Thus when it says that they “have a new home”, they could have been from anywhere. This story thus can work not just for immigrant experiences but for anyone in a new location. Moreover, the family is always together, and work with a smile towards their dreams. They never shy away from hard work, even though the lesson about valuing work over luck comes only towards the end. The representation isn’t stereotypical at all, probably because it is an #OwnVoices work.

However, there are many gaps in logic. I know it is just a picture book but there’s a limit to how much can be left unsaid. Why does a Chinese immigrant family want to set up a sushi restaurant, which is a Japanese dish? How old is June? Why does she have to shoulder such a great deal of the workload, including kitchen work in the restaurant? Why does she not go to school? If the sushi restaurant was to open the next day, why was it not dusted and readied up until even the previous night, when June and Lucky Cat begin setting it up for business? How did an immigrant family have so much of funds to set up business after business without ever going to the bank or having any major financial worries? It’s not like the businesses were similar; the set-up changed every time!

The illustrations too left me with a medley of feelings. They do appear picture perfect because of the sketching style and bright pastel colours. Lucky Cat was the best, portrayed in white with a wonderful glow around it. However, they seem inaccurate at times. For instance, the family members never wore hair nets or aprons when they worked in the kitchen of their sushi restaurant. The illustrations also seemed like stock images at times because the three characters wear the same clothes over the months the story talks place in, and many pagers depict the parents with the same facial expressions as on another page.

Overall, there is a lot of beauty in the book, and also a touch of magic through the presence of a Lucky Cat that comes alive. As long as your child isn’t an over-thinker like me, they might still enjoy the book and the message it promotes – hard work always leads to success; luck doesn’t.
(The pessimist in me knows that this isn’t always true. But it’s a children’s picture book, so I’ll just zip my lips on this.)

There are just a few sentences per page, and the text is at a simple level. Beginner readers will find the content manageable. Recommended to little readers aged 3-6.

3 stars.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Lucky Cat”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books through NetGalley.
Readers meet June and her family as they move to a new country and try to support themselves by running their own business. June is worried and unsure but trusts her parents. They first set up a sushi restaurant. The night before opening, June discovers that the Lucky Cat statue comes to life to help. Unfortunately, mistakes happen and the Cat causes many problems as the family tries several different businesses before figuring out a restaurant that will work. June suggests they sell baos based on how much they like them and Lucky Cat liked them.
I particularly like Cheng's ending as she reminds all of us that we all want the same for our families.

This was delightful and the lesson is, sometimes it takes awhile to find your perfect fit and sometimes help comes in unusual forms and leads in ways that initially seem unhelpful.
Gorgeously illustrated, this is a fantastic book that s both fun to look at and teaches a really good lesson. Really well done!

Thank you to NetGalley. AsianBossGirl [Podcast] - Melody Chang, Helen Wu, and Janet Wang, Eunice Chen - Illustrator, and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful story featuring an immigrant family that moves to America to start a new life.

June, the little girl in the family, is introduced to their new business and discovers there is lots of work ahead to prepare for the restaurant's opening. Inside she finds that the previous owners have left a lucky cat statue to welcome them. June soon learns that the cat statue can magically come to life.

Sadly Lucky Cat does not live up to her name. She tips over vinegar bottles, vandalizes people's clothing, and constantly sneezes on those who pay the new restaurant a visit. Through all the mishaps and chaos that ensues June learns a very valuable life lesson...success is achieved by perseverance, hard work, and following the desires of your heart.

"Lucky Cat" is a debut book penned by the hosts of the hugely popular AsianBossGirl podcast. The illustrations are beautiful. They are colourful, expressive and visually enrich this inspiring picture book. It highlights the themes of immigration, Asian culture, and settling into a new country. I highly recommend this book!

what a beautiful lovely picture book. I love the sweet story around that lucky cat and the illustrations are ver lovely.

Very sweet story, beautifully written and illustrated. Lucky Cat is an inspiring glimpse into the life of an immigrant family, as well as the story of a little girl who evolves into a thoughtful, generous soul with the help of her magic lucky cat.

I enjoyed Lucky Cat! It's a cute little story of family and resilience. The drawings are adorable and the food looks delicious despite Lucky Cat's mistakes.