Six-year-old Bilal introduces his friends to his favorite dish—daal!—in this charming picture book that showcases the value of patience, teamwork, community, and sharing.

"The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit."

• Bilal is patient when it comes to making daal because he knows that it takes time

• When his friends ask if the daal is done, he replies "daal takes time. We have to wait" (Saeed)

Character trait 2: Nervous

• Bilal's friends question whether the daal will taste good when they see that it "smells funny" and "looks funny"

• "Bilal is a little, tiny bit worried that maybe, just maybe, his friends won't like daal at all"

• Abu is knowledgable when it comes to making daal and explains to Bilal's friends that daal takes time to cook

• "Daal takes time. We have to wait. The flavors mix together slowly" (Saeed).

Character trait 2: Generous

• Abu is shown to be generous by allowing Bilal's friends to help prepare the daal and stay for dinner.

• Abu anticipates that a lot of Bilal's friends will show up and he "pulls out a pot, the biggest they have" (Saeed).

Answer: Yes, he does appear to be nervous.

Answer: I think it could be because a lot of people who come from different backgrounds feel nervous or excited when their friends try something from their culture. It's a special moment between Bilal and his friends when they taste the daal and describe how delicious it tastes. Maybe the author wanted to share her experience through the story.

Answer: I have had to wait patiently before. There have been times where I have waited for my grandmother's baking and

I would always ask if it was ready yet. It is hard being patient, but patience is always rewarded in the end.

Answer: Definitely. I wanted to take an exercise class with a few of my friends, and one of them was reluctant at first because she never really enjoyed most exercise classes she's taken. She expressed her uneasiness and I explained that she could give it 10 minutes and if she absolutely hated it, we could go. It turned out she enjoyed the class so much! She loved the instructor and we frequently went together afterwards. I think the best response to when someone is nervous to try something new is to be understanding, and let them know that it's ok if they don't like it, they just need to try it out.