Whimsical totes cheer up lunchtime

The first time I saw these Skip Hop Zoo Lunchies, I just had to get one — anything to make lunchtime a fun experience for my 2-year-old. The BPA-free totes are just the right size for him to carry and are roomy enough to hold sandwiches, snacks, drinks and more. The inside is insulated and can be wiped clean, and there’s an inside mesh pocket for utensils. Along with this red fox, the colorful and creative designs include a dinosaur, ladybug, owl, frog, monkey, penguin and zebra — each with a matching Zoo Pack backpack. The Lunchies are $14 at www.skiphop.com and are also available at Little Sprouts, 600 Kailua Road, Suite 106; 266-8877.

— Nina Wu

Cool off with a sweet watermelon beverage

No flavor captures summer quite like watermelon — cool, sweet and refreshing. For a treat this year, we’re keeping Minute Maid’s Watermelon Fruit Drink in the fridge, a delicious discovery the family picked up at Target. It’s in the refrigerated juice section, but the sugary cocktail is actually only 5 percent juice. So while it’s not at the top of the nutrition list, it makes a nice afternoon thirst-quencher in small doses. Available for $1.69 for 59 ounces.

— Donica Kaneshiro

Lucky Belly offers late-night grinds

I feel like I hit the jackpot every time I eat at Lucky Belly’s new late-night takeout window in Chinatown. Open from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at the corner of Smith and North Hotel streets in the former Mini Garden space, the operation has quickly built a following. The menu changes often, but there are usually three options — priced at $5 each — to go with $1 bottles of water. Recent visits have seen items like Pork Belly Bao, Shrimp Gyoza with an Edamame Avocado Puree, Karaage Chicken Sandwich with Radish Slaw and Yuzu Mayo, Short Rib Dumplings with Hot Mustard, and Shrimp Kim Chee Fried Rice with Steamed Egg. Lucky Belly is also open for lunch and dinner.

— Jason Genegabus

‘Midnight’ recounts murder mystery

The Black Dahlia case — the unsolved murder of a young woman whose mutilated body was found in a vacant lot in Los Angeles in 1947 — is one of the classic crime stories of the past century. Paul French describes a similar case in "Midnight in Peking" (Penguin Books, $26). Pamela Werner’s mutilated body was found in 1937 in an isolated area of the city now known as Beijing. Chinese police had jurisdiction, but because the victim was British, an English detective was assigned to the case as well. French describes in fascinating detail the multicultural milieu of Peking in the mid-’30s and explains why both the Chinese police and the English diplomatic corps had reasons to want the case closed as quickly as possible. French also tells of how the private investigation funded by Werner’s outcast father solved the case after the official investigation had failed to do so and how the information remained buried in the archives of the British Foreign Office for more than 70 years.

— John Berger

Faucet frees hands in kitchen

I bought a Foot Faucet on a lark off the Internet, and now I can’t live without it. The hands-free faucet allows me to control the water temperature and disposal with touch-sensitive foot pedals. Prepping food (especially when handling things like raw chicken), cooking and washing up in the kitchen are so easy now. At $385 the Foot Faucet costs as much as a smartphone, but like a smartphone, once you use one you can’t imagine life without it. It is one of the best things I have ever bought for my man cave/office/kitchen laboratory. Visit www.footfaucet.net.

— Scot Shimamura, Honolulu