This was so cute and heartwarming!! The illustrations are so pretty and the message behind it is priceless. I also love how they included the recipe at the end. It teaches the little ones that even though we might come from different places and cultures, it's love that unites us and I think that's beautiful. I recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seoul Food follows a young biracial girl named Hana as she prepares for both sets of her grandparents to visit at the same time. One set are coming from South Korea and the other coming to visit from South Carolina. She has a great idea to cook them a family dinner, however is having difficulty trying to think of a recipe that they both will like.

'I'm close to both my families. But I wish they were closer to each other. Distance and differences get in the way'

Hana's mother tells her the most important thing is to cook something with love. So Hana decides to combine two of her favourite recipes, one from each culture, into a combination dish just like her.

'I have one big, happy family with two different cultures from two different parts of the world ... and love is the ingredient that brings us all together'

Erin Danielle Russell does a great job portraying a journey of learning how to cook with love and embrace your many cultures, and as a mother of biracial children I love the message that is being focused on in this book. The book is illustrated by Tamisha Anthony and I really adored her art style, the food illustrations were making my mouth water and my stomach gurgle as I read. I also liked the accuracy in how she depicted a mixed race family and how both Hana and her little sister had various features from each of their parents. I highly recommend this book to families, especially those with their own biracial children who might need to see themselves in a book.

As someone who lives in South Carolina and has a deep appreciation for both Southern and Korean culture, Seoul Food felt like a perfect match for me. Having experienced authentic gumbo here at home and enjoyed kimchi while visiting friends in Seoul, this book hit close to my heart. The title, a clever play on “Soul Food” and Seoul, South Korea, immediately drew me in.

The artwork is vibrant, bursting with energy and color, making each page feel alive—you can almost taste the food! I particularly love how the book intertwines two rich culinary traditions, capturing the essence of both cultures in a way that feels natural and celebratory. The author’s decision to incorporate Korean words, even those that might be tricky for English speakers, adds authenticity and encourages readers to embrace and learn from different cultures.

As both an avid reader of children’s books and an illustrator myself, I’m incredibly impressed by how well the story and illustrations blend together. The message of family, love, and cultural fusion makes this book truly special. Honestly, I’m a little envious I didn’t create this book myself! It’s a beautiful tribute to the joy of sharing food, culture, and family—definitely one of my all-time favorites.

The cutest! Interesting, tasty! and adorable. I Will definitely buy a paper copy to have it on my shelf. It is a very important little book for kids and their parents and I hope it will be super popular. I am also hoping for more from the author.

Seoul Food is a heartwarming story of a family coming together to share a meal that celebrates all of their cultures. The illustration style and colour palette of this picture book are beautiful!

Thank you NetGalley and Erin Danielle Russell for the E-ARC.

What a delightful little story about a girl who combines both her family cultures to create a new recipe that bonds both sides together. This book is short and sweet. I found the tale to be quite heartwarming as someone who grew up with more than one cultural influence at home. The food we prepared and cooked together forms some of my strongest memories from my own childhood. I think this would be a fun book to read with kids of any age. The illustrative style is simplistic, fun, and well crafted. I really liked that on the last page there is a word guide that shows how to pronounce some of the food names that could be challenging for young readers, as well as a description of them. I wouldn’t expect most non-Korean kids to be familiar with jjigae, so that was a great idea from the author. I am also excited to see a recipe for the kimchi gumbo included on the back and will be making it myself! I may have to come back and edit this review after trying it. Overall excellent and thoughtfully written. I will be getting a couple copies for my nieces and nephews when the book releases.

I thought that this book was really good!

It was well written and easy to follow and I loved the messages of inclusion and family.

The book features a family meal that has two sets of grandparents, both of whom eat different types of food from their own cultures and the story features them being brought together - it is done really well.

I loved the addition of the recipe at the end to allow you to try your own mix of the foods too.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

I loved this book and wish I had more stories like these growing up as a multiracial child. The illustrations are warm and inviting. I like that both parents try to support their child with different suggestions but then give her space to come up with her own solution. Including Hana's recipe at the end was a great idea as it offers an engaging, hands-on extension. This would be a wonderful addition to picture book collections at home, in schools, and in libraries. For discussion questions and more activity ideas, check out Russell's website.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a sweet little picture book about a Blasian child with two sets of grandparents who are both coming to dinner. The illustrations are adorable and lend themselves to great conversations on each page. But the storyline is a little hard for an adult to swallow and doesn't portray the real difficulties of a biracial household. It's very sugar-coated, but since this book is for a young child, that isn't necessarily a minus. When you have grandparents living overseas family gatherings are not easy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Children will enjoy it greatly.

Adorable little book about a girl who wants to bring both sides of her family together. Half is from North Carolina, the other half is from South Korea. Her hope is a single dish can bring them together as a whole happy family. Very cute!

I absolutely love this book! It's wonderful to see different cultures coming together, and I think representation in children's books is incredibly important. Every child deserves to feel seen, and this book does a fantastic job of making that happen. The inclusion of various foods and the recipe at the end truly warmed my heart!

I loved this celebration of culture and heritage, of difference and complexity. Hana is Black and Korean, and wants to celebrate and honor all of her grandparents so she creates a kimchi gombo that fuses both of her ancestral foods into something new and delicious that everyone enjoys and sees themselves in.

I loved that Hana led this whole thing - from the desire to make them something special, thinking on her time with each set of grandparents to gain inspiration and then working through the recipe with her parent's support. The illustrations were delightful and really melded with the story to seamlessly convey this sweet, playful and important exploration of wanting to do your family proud.

My thanks to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This book is absolutely charming! The heartwarming message about love being the essential ingredient that unites us all is beautifully conveyed. The multicultural theme is wonderfully presented, and the inclusion of a recipe, along with word pronunciation and definitions at the end, makes it even more special. The art style is stunning as well. It's a must-read for children to understand and appreciate diversity.

what an excellent book to show how two cultures can not only coexist but thrive.
My kids loved this story, especially since their grandparents too live very far away.
We loved seeing the girl putting so much effort into the meal.
Wonderful book with awesome illustrations.

We are expecting our first grandchild (Korean father and Black mother) later this year, so this book quickly grabbed my attention.

Hana was filled with angst when deciding what to cook when her Korean and Black grandparents visit. The family offered suggestions, but they fell flat. Hana decided to do a Seoul Food Fusion, and that decision was the perfect choice! Everyone loved the food. The recipe is included at the back of the book.

There are many blended cultural families, and it's refreshing to have representation of this in books for children. Food is a common thread for all families and cultures. The fusion of food origins and breaking bread together to accept and honor all family members is priceless.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This childrens book tells the story of a multicultural family, with one set of grandparents living in South Carolina and the other in south Korea. The child discusses her love for both sets of grandparents and their cultures but wishes she was closer to both of them. She gets excited when all of her grandparents come together but her family can’t decide what to make or order for dinner. Hannah decides to make a Kimchi Gumbo, a mix of foods she loves from both cultures. Her family arrive and can decide if it smells like “soul food” or “Seoul food” (hence the title). Hannah explains that this food is both! It is a cute story and perfect for introducing young readers to the fact that families are diverse and it’s ok to love many different cultures. I think this would be a fabulous addition to my classroom library and could definitely see myself reading this to my class. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this beautiful book.

I loved everything about this book! The illustrations were beautiful, I love when a book includes a recipe - ESPECIALLY children's titles. I think that this book, along with cooking the (delicious) sounding recipe will create really wonderful and foundational food memories for children. I think children that identify with either, neither, or both cultural backgrounds in Seoul Food will really benefit from reading this. I will absolutely recommend this book and place it on display the moment our library receives a copy!

This is a sweet book about connecting two cultures and families through food. The illustrations were simple but fun and the story was easy to follow along for kids. I liked the additions at the end of the book with the recipe and definitions.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thought this was a cute little book and a great way to show adaptability and inclusion to young children through something they likely think about a lot (at least the little children I know do), food. I also loved the fact Russell put in a recipe for Hana’s Kimchi Gumbo at the end so we can try it if we wish and it may also help the young readers to try something new.

Favourite Quote:
"I have one bug, happy family with two different cultures from two different parts of the world … and love is the ingredients that brings us all together."

This is such a wonderful kids book. I loved the story of togetherness and the fusion of cuisines and cultures. This is definitely something children should read / be read.

The recipe at the end as well as the pronunciations and definitions of the words used was such a nice touch!

Highly recommend this book for kids 💖 (it was a joy to read as adult too🥰)

Thank you to Netgalley,Erin Russell & Viking Books for Young Readers for giving me an ARC copy of this cute book!