October 13, 2025 By Maria
The moon is supposed to be especially beautiful on the Mid-Autumn festival which was celebrated on October 6th this year. It’s the Asian harvest holiday and a time for reflection and gratitude very much like our American Thanksgiving. In our house, as usual, life happened. That weekend things definitely didn’t go as planned, but when I stepped back, I was still able to appreciate the day. The moon was absolutely gorgeous Monday night. My daughter claimed she saw the shadow of the Chinese fairytale character, Chang’e, dancing on the moon, but sadly no Jade Rabbit. It was a cute little moment I shared with her.
Last year I shared several books that I had read with my kids year after year for the Mid-Autum Festival in two blog posts. Today I would like to share a couple of special Mid-Autumn festival books. They are both based on stories from the authors’ family histories and are different from the typical holiday explanation stories you commonly read in Asian holiday picture books.
I always love picture books that share family history stories. To me they take a moment in the past that could easily be forgotten and save it. They tell special personal stories and make them unforgettable.
The Best Kind of Mooncake by Pearl AuYeung is based on a family story about the author’s grandparents’ Hong Kong street stand. In the story, a little girl (in obedience to her mother) shares her longed for and very special double yolk mooncake with a sweaty, smelly stranger who shows up in the street market after crossing the border into Hong Kong. Her moment of generosity inspires other people on the street to share with the man as well. Years later a similar looking man opens a mooncake shop near the parents’ stand and comes out to share mooncakes with the family. The mooncakes are, of course, double yolk mooncakes, the best kind of mooncakes. It is so beautiful to see how the girl’s reluctant gesture of generosity creates a domino effect and inspires others to help which leads to the man’s later success.
Inspired by a story about her mother-in-law, Hanh Bui wrote The Yellow Áo Dài. This book with its illustrations by Minnie Phan was a special find because it was a Mid-Autumn story about a Vietnamese family. Most of the other books we read were based on Chinese and Taiwanese Mid-Autumn traditions. A little girl named Naliah is preparing to share a traditional Vietnamese dance with her school for International Day. When she tries on her Áo Dài and finds that it’s small she decides to go exploring in her mother’s closet and tries on her mother’s very special yellow Áo Dài. The dress is way too big and disaster unfolds. Thankfully, her mother has a solution and shares some very special family history with Naliah which makes her Mid-Autumn even more significant.
I love how these books both bring connection to the authors’ personal family histories. It is so important to share our family stories with our kids. It is very special when an author decides to do that with the world. I am a grateful reader for finding these books and having more Mid-Autumn stories to share with my family. I look forward to continuing to make new Mid-Autumn memories with my family and learning to let our family traditions evolve and change with our different seasons of life.
More Bookshelves Please 