Book Descriptions
for Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Magnolia Wu’s parents own the Bin Qi Ling Bubble Laundromat in New York City. In this tender, funny, quirky story, Chinese American Magnolia and Vietnamese American Iris, both 9, set out to determine who each of the lone socks Magnolia has put on display at the laundromat belongs to and return them to their owners. The girls use observation and deductive reasoning as they follow the clues, starting with the pattern on each sock. Magnolia knows the customers, Iris points out, and surely each sock’s pattern reveals something about the person who wears it. Solving the mystery of each sock takes them around the city, which Iris, who just moved from California, initially finds overwhelming. The mystery-solving process also reveals surprising things to Magnolia about each of her parents, about Iris, and about two classmates she doesn’t really like. These small, often poignant discoveries are seamlessly woven into a story that is pure delight, even as it also sensitively navigates sometimes difficult experiences, from feeling lonely or scared to dealing with difficult parents (the plight of two secondary characters), to anti-Asian racism. Distinctive black-and-white line drawings accompany this spirited work.
CCBC Choices 2025. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, 2025. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
A Newbery Honor book and instant New York Times, USA Today, and indie bestseller!
Award-winning author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat.
Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents’ laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all.
What she doesn’t know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable.
With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.
Award-winning author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat.
Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents’ laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all.
What she doesn’t know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable.
With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
