A South Korean girl, her father, and their church family participate in a mission to send rice to impoverished, North Korea in hot air balloons. I like this book because children learn about North and South Korea. It focuses on a church's mission. The children learn only that people in North Korea are hungry and controlled by the government. ( )

"Rice from Heaven" by Tina Cho teaches readers the importance of giving back and being grateful for what you have when others are suffering. The characters in the story are fictional, a young girl who helps send food to hungry citizens in North Korea, which is appealing to young readers, however I really liked how the project of sending rice over to North Korea actually did happen and it is informative because I am sure most readers did not know that this effort even happened. The illustrations enhances the story and included vivid colors and expressions that go well with what is going on. I especially liked how the author's note included information about the real project that happened, statistics, facts on Korea, and maps. ( )