Beautifully written, beautifully drawn, this comic tells the story of Mei, a Chinese-American girl who works as a cook in a logging camp in the Sierra Nevadas in the 1880s. Her and her father's skills in the kitchen are prized, but Chinese works are severely discriminated against. Mei focuses on her friendship with the camp foreman's daughter and a series of tall tales she weaves at campfires about Auntie Po, a giant Chinese matriarch with her blue ox. Auntie Po wields a mean ax and helps keep loggers safe on the mountains. But even Auntie Po might not be able to protect Mei from the harsh realities of the world. This book was just nominated for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and I will add to that my own high recommendation.