Wish Soup

Sohees favorite part of Seollal is tteokgukthe special Korean rice cake soup traditionally only enjoyed on New Years Day. Each bowl is said to make the person who eats it one year older. This year, Sohee wants to eat as many bowls as she can to finally be an eonni, or big girl, to her younger siblings and cousins. Before Sohee can even get to her first bowl, though, shes interrupted by a series of holiday-related chores, leaving plenty of opportunity for her mischievous younger sister Somi to eat not only Sohees tteokguk, but their whole familys! Despite this outrageously silly setback, Sohee eventually learns that being a big girl is more than just how many bowls of tteokguk you eat.

This funny story of a childs journey to discover what it really means to be abiggirl explores the traditions of Korean Lunar New Year and the value of family and helpfulness.