Awards

• Winner of AJL Holiday HIghlights 2025 (United States)

Overview

STARRED REVIEW: ""A first purchase for libraries building collections around Jewish history, refugee experiences, and stories of resilience for young readers.""-School Library Journal ""Highly recommended"" -The Jewish Book Council ""An enjoyable, inspiring story""-The Historical Novel Society ""A worthwhile addition to all children's library collections...a glimmer of optimism in painful times.""-Association of Jewish Libraries Based on the history of Jewish refugees in Asia and spanning multiple years during World War II, this picture book shows how some creativity, adaptability, and a lot of love can make the new year sweet no matter where you are. Lily's family ran a pastry shop in Vienna. Every Rosh Hashanah, they baked honey cakes for their customers. But when war comes, they must leave everything behind. They first travel to Shanghai, where they are able to open a new bakery. Each year, Lily learned more about baking. She helped to mix and pour the batter, measure the ingredients, and passed out the wrapped up treats. But each year, there are changes. When the flour runs out, they have to use rice instead. There were fewer customers, and the newspaper wrappings were showing bad news. Soon, Lily's family has to move again, to Hong Kong. With rations there was even less than usual. There would be no honey cake this year. But Lily had been watching how her parents had made do in the years before, and she had some ideas of her own. Because despite all the changes, everyone deserves to have a sweet new year.

Full Product Details

9781681156767

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Lily’s Hong Kong Honey Cake is a captivating tale weaving together resilience, community, and the power of tradition. It offers young readers a valuable lesson in Jewish history that should never be forgotten."" — Abby Lester, Director of the Global Archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) ""Set amidst the lesser-known history of Jewish refugees’ experiences in Shanghai and Hong Kong during and after the Second World War, Lily’s Hong Kong Honey Cake is a sweet illustration of Jewish tradition, community spirit and human resilience during difficult times, gently inspiring hope and strength. A cozy and heartwarming read."" —Fanny Lu, Executive Director of The Hong Kong Heritage Project

""Lily’s Hong Kong Honey Cake is a captivating tale weaving together resilience, community, and the power of tradition. It offers young readers a valuable lesson in Jewish history that should never be forgotten."" — Abby Lester, Director of the Global Archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) When Lily is three, she and her family leave Austria and their bakery because of harassment against Jews. They eat their honey cakes on a ship. In 1940, when she is four, and for several more years, Lily celebrates Rosh Hashanah at their new bakery in Shanghai with honey cakes. At age eight, there is little food and no cake. When Lily is nine, the family leaves Shanghai for Hong Kong, where they live in a crowded hotel as refugees. At ten, on Rosh Hashanah, Lily helps the hotel chef make honey cakes, even without honey. Full-page spreads show each year of Lily’s early life, on Rosh Hashanah. The language and content are repetitive in word or concept—cleverly done, showing that even when things change, some things remain the same. The war and deprivation are hinted at, but the bright colors show the hope and love of Lily’s family. End pages include a map of the fictional Lily’s journey, and detailed information about the Jewish diaspora to Asia. An enjoyable, inspiring story. Ages 3-8. --The Historical Novel Society ""Set amidst the lesser-known history of Jewish refugees’ experiences in Shanghai and Hong Kong during and after the Second World War, Lily’s Hong Kong Honey Cake is a sweet illustration of Jewish tradition, community spirit and human resilience during difficult times, gently inspiring hope and strength. A cozy and heartwarming read."" —Fanny Lu, Executive Director of The Hong Kong Heritage Project

Author Information

Erica Lyons is the chair of the Hong Kong Jewish Historical Society, the Hong Kong Delegate to World Jewish Congress, and the founder of Hong Kong’s PJ Library program. Her first picture book, Alone Together on Dan Street, was a National Jewish Book Award finalist. In addition to writing, she has been a speaker for a number of forums that included: TEDx Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong), the SEFER International Conference for Judaic Studies (Moscow), Limmud China (Shanghai), and the 16th World Jewish Congress Plenary. Along with her family, she has called Hong Kong home for nearly two decades. Bonnie Pang has a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Resource Management from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a Master's degree in Illustration from The Academy of Art University. As an illustrator, she has worked on concept art for animation studios, children's book illustration, commercial illustration and public art projects. She lives in Hong Kong.

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