Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando

Written by Andrea Wang

Illustrated by Kana Urbanowicz

New York, NY: Little Bee Books, 2019. Biography Picture Book

I'll bet the last time you slurped up instant ramen noodles, you didn't think about where that perfectly tasty and warm cup of soup came from. The story is much more heart-warming than you'd expect.

Momofuku Ando lived in Osaka, Japan just after World War II had ended. He saw the devastation that lingered years after the terrible war. It left people hungry and poor. Ando wanted to help those in need. The thought motivated him to come up with a simple solution to feed people and he worked for twelve years to perfect his recipe for ramen noodle soup that would only take a couple of minutes to cook and required no more than hot water.

This beautiful, Japanese-styled picture book takes us through the journey of one man who wanted to help the war-devastated people of his country. Now, decades later, his products are known around the world and his company feeds the poor and homeless who have suffered all kinds of calamities.

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