Rainbow Shopping

Sharing a delicious meal helps a family connect in this loving tribute to Chinatown grocery stores and spending days-off together.

On a rainy Saturday, a young girl feels as gray as a pigeon. Since moving from China to Brooklyn, Mom, Dad, and Grandma have been too busy working. But a trip to Mom's favorite Chinatown market, where there are "vegetables in a hundred greens" and "silver fish on crunchy white ice," might just be what the girl needs to feel connected again.

After a long day of shopping, they cook up a savory meal of mushroom and bok choy, thin slices of bitter melon, fragrant ponds of broth, and seafood--almost like being back in China. A final dream spread shows the family walking hand-in-hand in rainbow colors, an affirmation of love and support even on rainy, gray days.

Inspired by Qing Zhuang's experience as a first generation Chinese American, Rainbow Shopping explores how sharing a meal together can be a source of comfort and connection to loved ones, near and far. Qing uses watercolor, colored pencil, and crayon to beautifully recreate NYC's Chinatown neighborhood and depict the girl's emotions with tenderness and humor. Warm peach tones balance the cool grays of the city in this hopeful tale.