Fortune Cookies For Everyone!
The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat
By Mia Wenjen & Colleen Kong-Savage
$18.99
32 pages • POB • Ages 4–7 • 8" x 11" • ISBN: 978-1-63655-159-3 • Available October 21, 2025
An investigative picture book which cracks the cookie open to discover what is known about the origins of everyone’s favorite crunchy after-dinner treat - a collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution
Grandma Miyako hosts her grandchildren for a takeout meal. Of course, at the end of the meal, she hands out the fortune cookies and begins to share the story of this popular treat with the attentive children as they munch on them. She claims she knew the true inventor of the fortune cookie, but the history is not so clear. Using "fortunes" as headings, each section of the book delivers an episode in the unusual history of the fortune cookie and lays out the great debate about where and when they were first made. California was certainly the location, but in which city was the original baker located? This picture book looks inside these crunchy, biscuity treats to reveal the cultural origins and locations of the creators. Along the way, we discover some surprising history regarding this delicious edible delight, including a rivalry between bakers that captivates even today.
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Mia Wenjen
Mia blogs about parenting, children’s books, and education at pragmaticmom.com. She is the co-creator of Multicultural Children’s Book Day/Read Your World. She is the author of several illustrated children’s books and lives in Boston with her husband and three kids. Follow her at PragmaticMom and on X, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
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Colleen Kong-Savage
Colleen is an Asian American graphic artist and illustrator who also creates murals. She has illustrated two picture books, including Piano Wants to Play, for which she was also the author. Having lived in places across the globe such as Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, and Zambia, Kong-Savage now makes her home in Queens, New York.