HOW WE SHARE CAKE

The art and science of sharing is put to the ultimate test.

As the second sister in this Korean family explains to readers, when you have four siblings, sharing takes on serious importance. Some things are easy to divvy up, like apples or liquids, but the world doesn’t always separate neatly. How do you portion out cotton candy…or your only uncle? Kim Hyo-eun uses mathematical concepts to explore the children’s commitment to fairness. To make sure everyone has equal access to a fan on a hot night, they each position themselves at 30-degree angles to it, and when their beloved uncle gives them a scooter, the siblings create a pie chart to figure out how much time everyone gets with it, but what happens when our protagonist falls off and injures her arm? How does that fit into the equations? The kids may squabble over their fair share, but when the narrator’s parents allow her to pick out a birthday cake on the way home from the hospital, she selects one that that’s easily divided among the five. With art that renders the kids as little more than heads, hair, and dots for facial features, Kim Hyo-eun pulls great emotion and pathos from seemingly simple designs. Originally published in South Korea, the book offers a tantalizing glimpse into everyday life that might contain some elements unfamiliar to American readers, while the universality of the family remains the true focus.

Sharing isn’t always caring, but affection and scheming go hand in hand in this sweetly hilarious tale.