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Amy Wu #3
Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome
Amy Wu does her best to make her new classmate feel welcome in this warmhearted and playfully illustrated follow-up picture book to Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon.
Amy’s class has a new student from China! Amy tries hard to make Lin feel included, but she can’t draw him out of his shell. Then she sees Lin chattering happily in Chinese with his family. The gears in her head start to turn, and a plan blossoms. Step one: invite Lin to her dumpling party…
With a little help from her grandma and a shiny new banner, can Amy give Lin the warmest welcome?
Amy’s class has a new student from China! Amy tries hard to make Lin feel included, but she can’t draw him out of his shell. Then she sees Lin chattering happily in Chinese with his family. The gears in her head start to turn, and a plan blossoms. Step one: invite Lin to her dumpling party…
With a little help from her grandma and a shiny new banner, can Amy give Lin the warmest welcome?
40 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2022
146 people want to read
About the author
Kat Zhang
28 books947 followers*Please do not message me through Goodreads! Instead, email me at katzhang3 AT gmail DOT com. I don't get on Goodreads often to check messages! Thank you :) *
Kat Zhang spent most of her childhood tramping through a world weaved from her favorite stories and games. When she and her best friend weren't riding magic horses or talking to trees, they were writing adaptations of plays for their stuffed animals (what would The Wizard of Oz have been like if the Cowardly Lion were replaced by a Loquacious Lamb?). This may or may not explain many of Kat's quirks today.
By the age of twelve, Kat had started her first novel and begun plans for her life as a Real Live Author (she was rather more confident at twelve than she is even now). Said plans didn't come into fruition until seven years later, when her agent sold her Young Adult trilogy, The Hybrid Chronicles, to HarperCollins. The series, about a parallel universe where everyone is born with two souls, concluded in 2014.
Her two upcoming Middle Grade novels will be released in 2017 and 2018 with Simon & Schuster. The first, The Emperor's Riddle, is about hidden treasure, lost aunts, and China. The second, The Memory of Forgotten Things, is about parallel universes (again), solar eclipses, and misfit children.
Kat is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong. She also contributes to Pub(lishing) Crawl, a site for aspiring writers to talk about books, storytelling craft, and the publishing process.
Kat Zhang spent most of her childhood tramping through a world weaved from her favorite stories and games. When she and her best friend weren't riding magic horses or talking to trees, they were writing adaptations of plays for their stuffed animals (what would The Wizard of Oz have been like if the Cowardly Lion were replaced by a Loquacious Lamb?). This may or may not explain many of Kat's quirks today.
By the age of twelve, Kat had started her first novel and begun plans for her life as a Real Live Author (she was rather more confident at twelve than she is even now). Said plans didn't come into fruition until seven years later, when her agent sold her Young Adult trilogy, The Hybrid Chronicles, to HarperCollins. The series, about a parallel universe where everyone is born with two souls, concluded in 2014.
Her two upcoming Middle Grade novels will be released in 2017 and 2018 with Simon & Schuster. The first, The Emperor's Riddle, is about hidden treasure, lost aunts, and China. The second, The Memory of Forgotten Things, is about parallel universes (again), solar eclipses, and misfit children.
Kat is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong. She also contributes to Pub(lishing) Crawl, a site for aspiring writers to talk about books, storytelling craft, and the publishing process.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
February 26, 2025
that was really cute
May 19, 2022
The pictures in this book match the style readers have come to expect from this series. The illustrator makes great use of facial expression to reveal emotion, and there is lots of diversity among the supporting characters.
It could be tricky to read this book in story time because without being a Chinese speaker, it would be hard to convey the excited conversation between Lin and his little sister that sparks Amy's plans. It would feel awkward to just point to the Chinese characters and say they were speaking in Chinese, and though the author's note provides the English translations, the story wouldn't make much sense if we heard them speaking in English, either. So that's something to work out ahead of time. The rest of the book lends itself well to being read aloud, and the theme of welcoming new friends is always a good one to kick off a school year or a story time series.
The pictures of the dumpling party seem to include a same-sex couple (two men) but there is nothing in the text to explicitly describe their relationship. It's unclear which of Amy's classmates is meant to be their child. There is a girl in Amy's class with visible hearing aides, and a boy and a teacher who wear glasses. The back of the book includes instructions for making a welcome banner. The previous Amy Wu titles are Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon.
I received a review copy of Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
It could be tricky to read this book in story time because without being a Chinese speaker, it would be hard to convey the excited conversation between Lin and his little sister that sparks Amy's plans. It would feel awkward to just point to the Chinese characters and say they were speaking in Chinese, and though the author's note provides the English translations, the story wouldn't make much sense if we heard them speaking in English, either. So that's something to work out ahead of time. The rest of the book lends itself well to being read aloud, and the theme of welcoming new friends is always a good one to kick off a school year or a story time series.
The pictures of the dumpling party seem to include a same-sex couple (two men) but there is nothing in the text to explicitly describe their relationship. It's unclear which of Amy's classmates is meant to be their child. There is a girl in Amy's class with visible hearing aides, and a boy and a teacher who wear glasses. The back of the book includes instructions for making a welcome banner. The previous Amy Wu titles are Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon.
I received a review copy of Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
May 3, 2022
Making a new friend takes on a nice and important twist, while keeping kindness and warmth front and center.
There's a new boy in Amy Wu's class, and she can't wait to become friends with him. While he's nice and smiles quite a bit, he never says a word. When Amy hears him talking to his sister in Chinese after school, she realizes what the problem might be. With her parents' help and a bit of guidance from her grandmother, she might find a way to connect with the boy after all.
The plot on this one is pretty straight forward and adds the familiar feeling of uncertainty to make it sit with young listeners/readers. The situation of having a new kid in school and the excitement of meeting them is something many readers can relate to, but it's the nervous reaction of the boy, who tries his best to be friendly...and is..., which makes it touch the heart. Then, the author turns it around, leaving the nervousness to sit on Amy. It's a lovely back and forth, which also shows how easy it is to make new friends once stepping beyond this anticipation.
Of course, this one spins around a child, who can't yet speak English. This is something, which happens more and more often, and even if not every child will have this experience, the message swings broad enough to keep it understandable and relate to other situations. All of the characters are friendly, warm-hearted, and radiate as much positive vibes as the bright illustrations, making this a wholesome read.
Then, there's the weaving in of other cultures to add the last zest. Amy's heritage slides in effortlessly and naturally. The author also makes sure to include the Mandarin when the boy and his sister speak. This is not translated right away, keeping the reader as much in the dark as Amy is. But it is translated at the end during the last notes. There's also a section where Amy tries to pronounce several words, which the reader can attempt as well.
It's a simple and cute read, which works well as a read-aloud or in a more one-to-one situation, too. I received an ARC and found it to be down-to-Earth and a positive read.
There's a new boy in Amy Wu's class, and she can't wait to become friends with him. While he's nice and smiles quite a bit, he never says a word. When Amy hears him talking to his sister in Chinese after school, she realizes what the problem might be. With her parents' help and a bit of guidance from her grandmother, she might find a way to connect with the boy after all.
The plot on this one is pretty straight forward and adds the familiar feeling of uncertainty to make it sit with young listeners/readers. The situation of having a new kid in school and the excitement of meeting them is something many readers can relate to, but it's the nervous reaction of the boy, who tries his best to be friendly...and is..., which makes it touch the heart. Then, the author turns it around, leaving the nervousness to sit on Amy. It's a lovely back and forth, which also shows how easy it is to make new friends once stepping beyond this anticipation.
Of course, this one spins around a child, who can't yet speak English. This is something, which happens more and more often, and even if not every child will have this experience, the message swings broad enough to keep it understandable and relate to other situations. All of the characters are friendly, warm-hearted, and radiate as much positive vibes as the bright illustrations, making this a wholesome read.
Then, there's the weaving in of other cultures to add the last zest. Amy's heritage slides in effortlessly and naturally. The author also makes sure to include the Mandarin when the boy and his sister speak. This is not translated right away, keeping the reader as much in the dark as Amy is. But it is translated at the end during the last notes. There's also a section where Amy tries to pronounce several words, which the reader can attempt as well.
It's a simple and cute read, which works well as a read-aloud or in a more one-to-one situation, too. I received an ARC and found it to be down-to-Earth and a positive read.
June 14, 2022
As you enjoy your summer, are you wondering which picture books to use for kicking off #classroombookaday in the fall? Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome will be the perfect back-to-school story and ALL year long because “it’s never too late for a welcome!”
July 20, 2022
A very sweet book about how to welcome someone new to your community, even when you don’t speak the same language!
Themes: Welcome, Friends, Language, New experiences
Age range: toddler-kindergarten
Themes: Welcome, Friends, Language, New experiences
Age range: toddler-kindergarten
May 1, 2022
Amy Wu is back and reminds us that even a small welcome will warm a heart!
Definitely a book to use when welcoming a new student, particularly one who may not speak or understand English.
Definitely a book to use when welcoming a new student, particularly one who may not speak or understand English.
May 4, 2022
Loved it!
June 15, 2022
Nice book about greeting a kid from another country and who speaks another language and including him in educational and civic life.
July 21, 2022
Love! Use for SEL or beginning of year lessons on how to be welcoming. Pair with The Arabic Quilt?
December 11, 2022
Very cute!
May 20, 2023
Loved the scene where Lun talks animatedly with his family in Chinese. Beautiful simple images to alongside a simple messaging of welcoming those new to our class, school, community.
May 21, 2025
Great book for API or any time of year. It helps students to have empathy for students whose first language isn’t English.
January 31, 2023
The Amy Wu books are adorable. In this one Amy welcomes a new classmate called Lin.
May 10, 2022
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello, friends! Our book today is Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome, written by Kat Zhang and illustrated by Charlene Chua, a charming story of cross-language communication and the spirit of inclusivity.
Third in Zhang and Chua’s Amy Wu series, we, along with Amy and the rest of her elementary class, meet new classmate Lin. Lin and his family have recently moved from China, and their teacher bids the class give Lin a warm welcome. Amy takes this to heart, and makes gestures of friendship to Lin throughout the day, yet Lin remains distant and silent. However, after school, Amy observes Lin animatedly speaking with his little sister in Chinese, and sees a different side of her new friend. Amy relies on her talent for pondering, and tries to come up with a way to reach out to Lin. But just when she’s thought of the perfect thing, she develops her own fears of speaking in front of a crowd. Can Amy overcome her fears to offer Lin a warm welcome?
Wonderful. This is our first time reviewing an entry in the Amy Wu series, and we were so pleased to see that this one is just as delightful as the previous installments. While telling a sweet story of hospitality and being inclusive, Zhang also deftly explores the challenges of communicating across languages, especially for those learning a new language in a predominantly-monolingual environment (been there). A nice touch was having Lin’s dialogue with his sister being written in pinyin characters, allowing the reader to feel the sense of being in Lin’s shoes, while also providing translations in the back of the book. Chua’s illustrations are cheerful and colorful, and feature a nicely diverse cast of characters. The length is perfect for an elementary storytime, and JJ really liked it, especially the dumpling-making scenes (side note: this is the second time this week we’ve reviewed a book where the art has made me crave dumplings, and I’m not mad about it). Overall, a great story with a fantastic message, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
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March 1, 2025In this book, Amy arrives at school and meets a new student from China named Lin. Throughout the day, she tries to include him but notices he never speaks. Amy begins to wonder why Lin doesn't talk to her and whether she did enough to make him feel welcome. Later, she sees Lin's family pick him up from school and hears him speaking in Chinese with them. That evening, while shopping with her mom for their upcoming dumpling party, Amy thinks of an amazing plan to invite Lin! As soon as she gets home, she creates a welcome banner with a message in Chinese for Lin. When the party begins, Amy waits happily for Lin, holding her banner. But when he arrives, Amy gets too nervous to share it with him right away, so they begin making dumplings together instead. Everyone has a wonderful time making and enjoying dumplings together, and as Lin is about to leave Amy sees her banner and realizes it's never too late for a welcome, so she reads it to Lin. By the end of the story, Lin feels a lot more comfortable with his new friends because of everything Amy did to make him feel welcomed and included.
This is a book I will include in my future classroom to teach my students about inclusion, kindness, and the importance of making others feel welcome. When reading this aloud to students I could discuss with them how Amy helps the new student feel included and why that's important. I would ask students questions like "How can we make new friends feel included in our classroom?" Additionally, this book provides a great opportunity to explore different languages and cultures. I could invite multilingual students in my class to share greetings in their home languages with the rest of the class, helping everyone learn new ways to welcome others in different languages.
This is a book I will include in my future classroom to teach my students about inclusion, kindness, and the importance of making others feel welcome. When reading this aloud to students I could discuss with them how Amy helps the new student feel included and why that's important. I would ask students questions like "How can we make new friends feel included in our classroom?" Additionally, this book provides a great opportunity to explore different languages and cultures. I could invite multilingual students in my class to share greetings in their home languages with the rest of the class, helping everyone learn new ways to welcome others in different languages.
May 1, 2022
I loved "Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao" and I am glad to see sweet Amy in this third book in the series back to her good intentions. I loved that Kat Zhang incorporated food in this series as it is so much a part of Chinese culture. As an ESOL teacher, I loved that this story talks about welcoming a newcomer to the country and making them feel welcome. Often, I encounter students who do not have the words to express all the ideas in their heads, and this was seen in the scene where the new kid, Lin, greets his sister and lets the words flow. This is a must-read for many classrooms that are welcoming students from a different country, it should be present in many libraries, and I can see how this can be a very good read-aloud story. Thank you for this easy-to-follow book where children can easily relate with Amy's way of seeing things. I do wish there was a good dumpling recipe at the end of the book... ;-)
August 5, 2022
The first Amy Wu was about food. The second was about identity. This third installment takes the ABC experience further by placing it in contrast to the native Chinese experience-- and yet for something that could be so complex, the storyline is straightforward, simple and set against the backdrop of adorably effective illustrations.
Also, talk about inclusion: aside from the diversity of culture portrayed, one of Amy's classmates wears a hearing aid, plus there's an actual Chinese phrase and characters drawn onto the pages, complete with pinyin guidance on pronunciation. I can't wait to see what the fourth book will hold!
Also, talk about inclusion: aside from the diversity of culture portrayed, one of Amy's classmates wears a hearing aid, plus there's an actual Chinese phrase and characters drawn onto the pages, complete with pinyin guidance on pronunciation. I can't wait to see what the fourth book will hold!
June 22, 2022
I loved this! What an awesome book about making others feel welcomed. I think I will use it in my kindergarten friendship lesson in place of The Name Jar (which is a great book but so LONG for a kindergartener's attention span). Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome will fit great in the lesson about ways to make friends. There is even backmatter about it! I can also extend the lesson by having students make welcome banners and/or looking up ways to say welcome in other language (kind of like the front of the book). It's a mark of a great picture book that it sparks so many ideas for its use in the classroom!
September 27, 2023
This is my first Amy Wu book - It was amazing. I love Amy Wu. She does her best to make all kids feel welcome. Her school is very diverse. She tries to help a new kid and he doesn't talk with her. He looks embarrassed. After school, she notices he talks so differently to his family. She realizes he doesn't speak English.
They have the grandest looking Dinner party in the land. There are all sorts of cool looking people there and the new family happens to be there as well. They bond over making dumplings.
Anyway, Nice simple story. Lovely artwork and lots of warm heart. I loved it. I used to love to have dinner parties. I miss dinner parties. Who could afford them now with food the price it is anyway.
They have the grandest looking Dinner party in the land. There are all sorts of cool looking people there and the new family happens to be there as well. They bond over making dumplings.
Anyway, Nice simple story. Lovely artwork and lots of warm heart. I loved it. I used to love to have dinner parties. I miss dinner parties. Who could afford them now with food the price it is anyway.
October 15, 2024
This story is about Lin who is a new student in class and he is from China. Amy is another student and class and she tries to make him feel welcome but she doesn't think she is doing too good of a job cause Lin is still very reserved. She then has the idea to invite him to her dumpling party, as well as create a welcome banner for him in Chinese. She is shy at first to give him the banner but at the end of the dinner she does and Lin feels welcome and that is illustrated in the end of the story at school when he feels much more comfortable. This would be a great story to use in the classroom when a new student may be coming as a reminder to be welcoming and friendly to all students. It would also be fun to then make a welcome banner for the student just as was done in the story.
November 18, 2025
This heartwarming book is about a young girl who wants to make a new friend at school feel welcome. She does her best trying to include him in all the activities they do at school, but he is too shy and too nervous. She really wanted to give her new friend a warm welcome, so she decides to throw a welcoming party for him and a few others at her home with the help of her family and created a special sign in his language to greet him. Then, happily ever after, her wish came true of making him feel welcome and they were friends after all. I think this is a really cute book to include in classroom libraries as it can be a helpful tool to read, when new friends just need a little boost of welcoming. Themes of love, care, and appreciation totally shine throughout this story.
May 22, 2022
Amy Wu is back and wants to welcome a new classmate. She tries to make him feel part of the play time and other class parts. He doesn't speak at school. Then, Amy and her mom hear him talk to his father and sister in Chinese as the end of the day. She invites them to the dumpling making party that evening and works hard to say welcome in Chinese but freezes in front of everyone. They find a way to communicate, and Amy finds her courage and shares her word to end the evening.
Love the way Zhang shows readers how hard it can be to speak in a strange language by allowing both characters a time when they could not communicate.
Love the way Zhang shows readers how hard it can be to speak in a strange language by allowing both characters a time when they could not communicate.
August 2, 2022
AMY WU AND THE WARM WELCOME might be my favorite Amy Wu story so far. In this one, Amy has a new kid in her class. She does her best to make him feel welcome but he doesn't seem to respond much at all. Being sweet Amy Wu she comes up with a plan. How do you make a new student or friend feel welcome? Amy Wu has wonderful ideas for kids to imitate. This is a great story to share in an elementary school classroom, especially one that has a new non-English speaker arriving. It helps the reader think about how hard that might be and how they can help, but couched in a highly readable, endearing story.
May 1, 2023
This was one of my favorite books to read. The message of the book is not judge a book by its cover and to be welcoming. When Lin arrives at school, he does not quite understand everyone, since he appears to only speak Chinese. Amy invites him over to her dumpling party and says "Welcome" in Chinese as he is leaving. This shows her determination to be welcoming and kind. At first, she does not know if Lin likes her but after watching him get picked up, she learns he does not speak English. She makes a valiant attempt to connect with him. Once again, this was one of my favorite reads. The books flows smoothly, along with the pictures.
June 23, 2023
Gr. K-3. Fans of Amy Wu will delight in the third installment to this series, where Amy strives to include a new student from China in her class's activities. Despite her best efforts, Lin remains withdrawn – until Amy sees him chatting happily in Chinese with his little sister. With the help of her grandmother, Amy hatches a plan to breach communication barriers and make a new friend. Add it to elementary collections as a clever example of problem-solving or to help welcome Asian students to the classroom. Great teaching resources are also available at https://www.nea.org/professional-exce...
October 10, 2024
Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang is a touching book. The main character Amy has a new student in her class from China. Amy tries to include and play with this new friend. She is not sure if he is feeling the same way because of the language barrier. This book shows that we should find a way to connect with people no matter their language. Amy connects with her friend making dumplings. This warmhearted and playfully illustrated book shows and respects other differences. Also, the books show that it's never too late for a warm welcome. This book is intended for readers k-2 grade level. I would use this book in the classroom during the read aloud session.
September 9, 2022
What a great welcome story. I loved how Amy was so supportive during the day despite not getting responses from Lin that were positive. She thought about it and came up with solutions, along with help from her elders. I love seeing that a kid kept trying to make a difference instead of a one and some effort..:and that it wasn’t just a kid solution, but involved another generation to make the difference. The book ends with humor and throughout is filled with kindness (and good food), so this is a great book for a classroom library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2022
There's a new student in Amy's class from China. Amy is trying to make Lin feel welcome, but she isn't sure she is succeeding. Can she find more ways to make Lin feel welcome?
A sweet story about welcoming others even when there are some language barriers, emphasizing how actions speak louder than words at times. A good chunk of the story happens at a dumpling making party at Amy's house with friends and family. (Be warned, this may make you hungry.) There are more suggestions about how to make new students welcome in the back of the book.
A sweet story about welcoming others even when there are some language barriers, emphasizing how actions speak louder than words at times. A good chunk of the story happens at a dumpling making party at Amy's house with friends and family. (Be warned, this may make you hungry.) There are more suggestions about how to make new students welcome in the back of the book.
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November 16, 2022Kai’s Thoughts: Kat Zhang brings us another great picture book! This book delivers a powerful and inspiring message: many new English speakers with limited vocabulary have a difficult time demonstrating the full extent of their intelligence or their real personality. When they communicate with others in a way that’s familiar and comfortable to them, they can be quite different! Therefore, we should never assume that a person who cannot speak English fluently is unable to think in a fluent and complex way.
June 4, 2022
“It’s never too late for a welcome.”
Amy has a new classmate, Lin, and though she tries to be friendly to him, he doesn’t speak to her. When she sees him after school with his little sister she realizes why. He speaks Chinese. While Amy and her Mom are shopping after school, Amy has a brilliant idea. They invite Lin’s family over for dinner and Amy makes a welcome banner in Chinese. She has trouble getting the words out, but Lin knows just what to do.
Amy has a new classmate, Lin, and though she tries to be friendly to him, he doesn’t speak to her. When she sees him after school with his little sister she realizes why. He speaks Chinese. While Amy and her Mom are shopping after school, Amy has a brilliant idea. They invite Lin’s family over for dinner and Amy makes a welcome banner in Chinese. She has trouble getting the words out, but Lin knows just what to do.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews