Parents' Guide to

Gai See: What You Can See in Chinatown

By Patricia Tauzer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Colorful, seasonal peek at Cantonese food and fun.

Book Roseanne Thong Picture Book 2007
Gai See: What You Can See in Chinatown Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

Lebron12James3
Lebron12James3 Parent of 5-year-old
November 30, 2021
age 7+

Toys Tory

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What's the Story?

Throughout the year, a young Chinese boy explores the outdoor Chinese street market (Gai See) with his family. From Cheong-fun noodles, song birds, and slippers to sweets, medicinal herbs, and firecrackers, he finds new treasures as the seasons change.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Like the shoppers in such a market, readers get a rich and tasty glimpse at all things you might find as you stroll through a Gai See. Young kids, especially, will enjoy the pleasant, armchair shopping experience. Most of what they may not recognize is covered in a glossary in the back.

Gai See means "street market" in Cantonese, and that is where this book takes us. Bright, bold illustrations fill the pages as simple rhymes lead a young Chinese boy, and the reader, through booths of a market in Chinatown. As the seasons change, so do the foods and other merchandise. In the springtime, he eats "oodles of noodles," in summer he cools off with soybean milk and enjoys mango and starfruit. The fall brings incense sticks, chocolate coins, and crispy duck while in winter he searches out medicinal herbs, greens, and fire crackers to celebrate the new year.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the things the boy sees in the marketplace and how they change with the season. If they have never been to an open-air market, they might want to visit one and see just how different it is from the supermarket. If you have been to the farmers market, how is it like the Gai See? How is it different? Do you find different goods for sale at different times of the year where you shop? Do you recognize the foods the boy sees, such as blocks of tofu heaped on a tray, bubbling tanks of deep-sea fish, starfruit, lychee nuts, or dragon fruit?

Book Details

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