Close Menu
www.crackingthecover.com
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • Picture
      • Ages 0-3
      • Ages 2 and up
      • Ages 3 and up
      • Ages 4 and up
      • Ages 5 and up
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 8 and up
      • Author Interviews
      • Bedtime Stories
      • Gift Guide
    • Middle Grade
      • Author Interviews
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 7 and up
      • Ages 8-12
      • Ages 9-12
      • Ages 10 and up
      • Gift Guide
    • YA
      • Author Interviews
      • Reviews
      • Adult Crossover
      • Gift Guide
    • Seasonal
      • Back to School
      • Christmas
      • Earth Day
      • Easter
      • Fall
      • Father’s Day
      • Mother’s Day
      • Gift Guide
      • Halloween
      • Spring
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Winter
    • Diversity
      • AANHPI Heritage
      • Autism Month
      • Black Experience
      • Chinese New Year
      • Hispanic Heritage
      • Pride Month
      • Women’s History
    • Crossover
    • About
      • Review/interview policy
      • About our reviewers
    www.crackingthecover.com

    Bo Lu’s debut picture book, Bao’s Doll, is exquisite

    0
    By Jessica on May 23, 2024 AANHPI Heritage, ages 4 & up, Celebrating Diversity, picture books

    BAO’S DOLL: A PICTURE BOOK, by Bo Lu, Abrams Books for Young Readers, June 18, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 4-8)

    Distant memories help an immigrant mother and daughter connect in Bao’s Doll, a picture book by Bo Lu.

    Whenever Mama says, “when I was a little girl in Taiwan, we had nothing,” Bao stops listening. Mama does not understand Bao, and Bao certainly does not understand Mama.

    So when Bao desperately wants a doll—specifically, the beautiful, blonde All-American Artist Amanda doll that everyone else has—Bao takes matters into her own hands and steals Amanda from the store. After getting caught, Bao’s chest feels heavy like a giant rock. But gradually, the awkward silence between Bao and Mama shifts to honesty, and eventually, a deeper understanding of what binds them. —Synopsis provided by Abrams Books for Young Readers

    Bao’s Doll was born out of author/illustrator Bo Lu’s own childhood experience trying to steal a Barbie Doll. Like, Bao, Lu was an immigrant who dreamed of being like other kids. However, Lu’s mother never talked about the incident. Lu wrote Bao’s Doll in hopes of offering space for forgiveness and connection.

    The heartfelt picture book is deceptively simple. Instead, it’s a master class on emotional intelligence. Lu’s illustrations have an almost dreamlike quality to them, and her use of color supports the theme. It’s a beautiful look at a relationship between a daughter and her mother.

     

    Copyright © 2024 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jessica
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • X (Twitter)

    Jessica Harrison is the reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. She loves books and worked as the in-house book critic at a daily newspaper, writing reviews and interviewing authors for two years. When the company cut back, she lost her position covering books, but that doesn't mean she stopped reading. If anything, the whole experience made her more passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices. She has been featured on NetGalley's Blogger Spotlight and is on Kindleprenuer's Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs. Contact her at jessica(at)crackingthecover(dot)com and follow Cracking the Cover on Bluesky, Instagram,  Facebook and Twitter (X) @crackingthecovr. You can also read scaled down reviews on Jessica's Goodreads review page. Jessica is also a reviewer on Amazon.

    Related Posts

    Sports Superstars from Black History tells stories of 10 athletes

    It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today is delightful search and find

    Explore sea habitats in There’s an Ocean in This Book

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • bluesky
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • facebook
    • goodreads
    • amazon
    • bloglovin
    • mail
    Subscribe by email
    Follow
    Recent Posts
    July 3, 2025

    Astrid Lindgren’s The Children of Noisy Village is delightful

    July 2, 2025

    Brittney Morris’ This Book Might Be About Zinnia explores identity

    July 1, 2025

    The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks is MG gold

    July 1, 2025

    E.L Starling’s Bound by Stars is fast-moving sci-fi romance

    June 30, 2025

    Return to Neverland with Wendy’s Ever After, by Julie Wright

    Archives
    Categories
    On Writing

    “The dance with words and the way the hair on the back of my neck raises when it works right is what I live for.”

    —Gary Paulsen

    “I write because I exist. Because I read. Because I breathe.”

    —Lindsay Eager

    “Books are kind of like the sense of smell: inhale one page and memories come rushing back.”

    —Keir Graff

    Cracking the Cover is a website dedicated to picture, middle-grade and young adult books. It features reviews, author interviews and other book news. PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting self published books for review.

    Copyright © 2010-2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Reviews Published Professional Reader 2016 NetGalley Challenge 100 Book Reviews

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.