A Banquet For Cecilia

A Banquet for Cecilia
Approx. ages 5–10
A feast of culture & courage

From the very first page, A Banquet for Cecilia invites readers into a sensory journey—smelling steam, tasting ginger, hearing chopsticks click—as they follow the life of Cecilia Chiang, a trailblazer who forever changed how America thinks about Chinese food. With warm watercolor illustrations and rich storytelling, the book celebrates family, resilience, and the boldness of bringing one’s heritage to a new home.

Why We Love It

• Key play / learning value: introduces children to biography, cultural heritage, and the power of food as a bridge between worlds

• Why parents love it: sparks conversation about identity, history, immigration, and how one person can shift a nation’s palate