A Spoonful of Time - by Flora Ahn

About the Book

"Maya discovers stories and secrets from her family's past in Korea as her grandmother teaches her to cook and about their family's ability to time travel into memories via food."--

Book Synopsis

A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2023

When You Reach Me meets Love Sugar Magic in this unforgettable middle grade novel where time travel, family recipes, and family secrets collide.

Maya's grandmother, Halmunee, may be losing her memory, but she hasn't lost her magic touch in the kitchen. Whether she serves salty miyeok-guk or sweet songpyeon, her stories about Korea come to life for Maya.

Then one day, something extraordinary happens: one delicious bite transports Maya and Halmunee into one of Halmunee's memories. Suddenly they're in Seoul, and Halmunee is young.

This is just the first of many secrets Maya will uncover: that she and her grandmother can travel through time. As Maya eats her way through the past, her questions multiply--until a shocking discovery transforms everything she thought she knew about family, friendship, loss, and time itself.

Brimming with heart and interspersed with seven family recipes that readers can make themselves, this is a story to savor by rising Korean American author Flora Ahn.

Review Quotes

A 2024 CBC Children's Favorites Winner, Sixth to Eighth Grade
A 2024 CBC Teacher Favorites Winner, Sixth to Eighth Grade
A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
A 2024-25 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee

"Affectionately wrought....evocative descriptions of food and its link to memory carry this light speculative read, which offers up a sweet intergenerational relationship that connects past and present."--Publishers Weekly

"Beautifully written...the descriptions of the dishes are salivating enough that readers might appreciate the ability to recreate them at home. A warm and satisfying intergenerational story."--Booklist

"Full of twists, this middle-grade story is a heartwarming mix of food and family."--Kirkus Reviews

"A charming story filled with recipes."--School Library Journal

"Readers will love the Korean culture and food references....This is a great time-travel adventure read."--Book Riot

"This wonderful book combines food and family into a perfectly seasoned story."--Lelia Nebeker for Northern Virginia Magazine

"This wonderful book [by an Arlington author!] combines food and family into a perfectly seasoned story."-- Lelia Nebeker for Northern Virginia Magazine

"Seasoned with humor and a rich setting, A Spoonful of Time is an enchanting novel about family secrets, friendships, loss, and food that transports us to the past. Warning: don't read while hungry!"--Lynne Kelly, author of Song For a Whale

"A vividly written tale that is easy to love, Flora Ahn's novel is intricate, enchanting, and absolutely brimming with life. This is a surprising and timeless story, with the perfect mix of sweetness, wonder, and depth."--Corey Ann Haydu, author of Eventown and One Jar of Magic

About the Author

Flora Ahn is an attorney by day and an author and illustrator by night. Her work includes a children's chapter book series, Pug Pals (Scholastic) and an Audible Original, The Golden Orchard. Raised in California by her Korean immigrant parents, Ahn lives in Virginia with her two pugs and practices law in DC.