The Have a Good Day Cafe

Choices, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College

Early each morning Mike and his family drive to the city with their food cart.

Early each morning Mike and his family drive to the city with their food cart. They sell bagels and orange juice for breakfast, hot dogs and pizza for lunch. Mike passes the time by drawing pictures, and Grandma sits in the shade, fanning herself and missing life back home in Korea.

One day two other food carts show up on the family’s street corner. All summer long business dwindles away, and Mike’s worried parents start thinking about giving up their cart. Now it’s up to Mike, and Grandma, to find a way to bring back their customers.

The idea for this story originated when the authors would drive to work and see a Korean family setting up an outdoor food cart each morning. Brimming with warmth and love, The Have a Good Day Cafe is a tribute to the resourcefulness of new immigrants everywhere. Readers will be delighted by this mouth-watering celebration of family and culture.