Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park

Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee

Rating: 5 mix-it-up stars

Bottom line up front: This is a fine book, probably a solid 4 star book. But because we got so much more than a nice little rhyme, it is definitely 5 stars for our family.  This book exemplifies what great children's books are: an inspiration to Something Else...maybe the book leads to a discussion, a new passion (even if it only lasts for a few days or a week), an outdoor search, a lesson, or, in this case, a great culinary adventure. For us, this book was a real turning point for our family diet. I realized that my kids are ready for something MORE than I give them on a day-to-day basis--they jumped at the chance to cook (not just bake) more than I ever had let them, and they were excited to eat something new.

Now, the details: My college friend (and fellow mom and library-lover) Beth recommended this book to us (thanks, Beth!); she said that they just checked it out for the thousandth time the other day.  So, of course, I got it from our local library.  To my delight, it is a book about how to make a Korean dish that my husband and I used to lap up when we went out before the kids came around: Dorsu bee-bim bop.

The book is a catchy rhyme about a little girl who shops for, helps make, mixes up, and then eats bee-bim bop.  We love a good poem, and Lorelei was walking around reciting parts of it after just a few readings: "Hurry, Mama, hurry / gotta shop, shop, shop / Hungry, hungry, hungry / for some bee-bim bop!"  At the end of the book is the recipe (complete with a guide to what kids do, and what adults do while preparing the dish); I was overjoyed when Lorelei insisted again and again that we make bee-bim bop.  My husband had been pestering me to try it at home anyway, so...what the heck?  If the culinary adventure failed with my kids, then Jonathan and I would have that much more to eat ourselves later. 

The first step to this adventure was already completed: Get them hooked on the book and the idea that this stuff was good.

Step two: Make a little list for the kids (there's Ben, holding it upside down...we're working on it, we're working on it) and shop, in our nifty space shuttle shopping cart, for all the ingredients on the list. 

 Step Three: Make rice. We poured the water into the rice cooker--Lorelei was delighted when she spilled some, because that's exactly what the little girl does in the book! I couldn't have planned it more perfectly. Not only did she get to recite "Let me pour the water in / yes, I know I can" she also got to say, after she spilled it "Sorry, Mama, sorry / gotta mop, mop, mop / hungry in a hurry for some bee-bim bop!" Lucky Ben got to push the button down on the rice cooker--his big sister was distracted with the excitement of mopping.

Step Four: Get to cooking. After donning our favorite aprons (Having fallen in love with Ladybug Girl she wore her ladybug apron; I was pleased with myself that we found an apron for Ben, but he insisted on wearing my flowery one instead of his blue fish one.  Oh well!), the kids scrambled eggs and I chopped all the other stuff.  Lorelei helped me marinate the beef during Ben's nap.

Step Five: Assemble!So here's the end product: bee-bim bop!  I was pretty proud of myself that it looked pretty,too.  That's egg, carrots, dee-lish-ous meat, and spinach (yup, you read right: spinach).  It was now the moment of truth.  I have to say here and now that while my kids are excellent eaters, they are not very adventurous.  Especially Lorelei.  And when Ben sees his sister push something away, he often pushes his away, to make it a doubly frustrating experience.  I think my husband was holding his breath at work; he knew what was going on at home...and knew that I was completely invested in a bee-bim bop dinner and had no back-up anything simmering on the stove.  It was all or nothing.  It was time.  The kids sat down, mixed, mixed, mixed and...

Step Six:  EAT!  They ate it!  Lorelei needed a little coaxing, and after taking her spinach out (I didn't want to ruin it with a little spinach), she dug right in.  Then--are you sitting down?--she asked for spinach.  Then asked for more meat.  Of course!  I happily dug into her parents' portion of the marinated beef and cooked up some more for her, and she ate it.  All of it.  They ate the rice.  Ben ate almost all of the eggs, and loved the carrots. 

Certainly, I won Mom of the Day award today!  Maybe not yesterday, maybe not tomorrow.  But today I was Triumphant.  And now I got bragging rights for a few months because both of kids ate spinach.  I know, it's not all about that, but...well, humility is something for which I strive.  The ending might be more of a riot: my slightly picky happily husband ate dinner made from a recipe from a children's book.  I think he might have licked the plate while I wasn't looking.

 Ernie got dirty!