About the Author

Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of nonfiction books for children in the Kaleidoscope Kids Series, China and Japan. She is a third generation Japanese American, and many of her ideas for the Jasmine Toguchi series come from family experiences. Debbi lives in Connecticut with her husband and their two ducks, Darcy and Lizzie. Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen and Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth is her fiction debut.

Elizabet Vukovic received her MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. She specializes in children's book illustration, but enjoys experimenting with character design, concept art, fashion illustration, and decorative art. She currently resides in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She illustrates the Jasmine Toguchi series, including Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen and Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth.

Reviews

*A January Amazon Prime Box Pick!* "Jasmine, the 8-year-old Japanese-American heroine of this charming chapter book, wants to help make mochi, a sticky rice dessert. When she's told that only men can pound the rice, she decides to convince everyone that she can do it. In this first of the series, readers get a plucky heroine, an easy-to-follow plot, a warm cast of extended family members and, at the end, a recipe for mochi." --The New York Times Book Review "Jasmine Toguchi [is] so spunky she'd run circles around Ramona Quimby." -- Parents.com "Florence paints a lovely picture of a warm, extended family whose members truly care about one another and take each other seriously...New readers thirsty for series fiction will look forward to more stories about Jasmine and her family." --Kirkus Reviews "This first entry nicely balances humor with the challenges of growing up; readers will devour it." --School Library Journal "...an adorable and heartwarming story about a kid who wants to feel special and do something first for once, along with a nice overview of a Japanese New Year celebration."--Booklist "Florence warmly traces Jasmine's efforts to get strong (and fast), her clashes and tender moments with her family, and the ins and outs of making mochi (a recipe is included). Vukovic's b&w spot illustrations evoke Japanese Sumi-e painting while playfully capturing Jasmine's willfulness and her family's closeness." --Publishers Weekly "The Toguchi family's warmth and affection for one another will leave readers eager to spend more time with them."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "This first in the series handily introduces a plucky, strong-willed girl whose family traditions may be new to many readers but whose frustrations will be familiar to nearly all. Humorous illustrations help young audiences picture the mochi-making process, which is further explained in an author's note. Also appended: a recipe for 'microwave mochi.'" --The Horn Book