Holiday stories and fun

Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, & The Children's Museum, Boston (authors)

Meilo So (illustrator)

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: 

A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

This kind of anthology is generally not my favorite type of book, but if you are looking for a single book about Chinese holidays, their associated folk tales, and traditions, this one is a good one. Too often, anthologies overwhelm and flatten their subject. Fortunately, rather than going with an encyclopedic approach, these authors have exercised care in their selection of topics and related stories, activities, and recipes.  

  The book is divided into four chapters according to four major holidays (counting New Year and the Lantern Festival as one). Folk tales include less common ones. I enjoyed the one of Dongfang Shuo whose cleverness saved Chang'an and makes sense of new year's show of firecrackers, fireworks, and lanterns. The tale of Jie Zitui, which involves an episode of self-sacrificing cuisine, is not for the squeamish and reminds us of how bracing folk tales really are. While I didn't try out the crafts and recipes, I can imagine that parents and teachers, as well as children, will enjoy them. The list of resources is excellent, and the guide to pronunciation is just about the best I have encountered.

Devouring books

Grace Lin's brightly illustrated Dim Sum for Everyone whets my appetite, literally, as it parades before my eyes the quintessential dishes of one of my favorite ethnic meals. Lin's easy text invites readers to join a Chinese family as they pick and choose among the food carts that wind through the restaurant. Her pictures use shifting points of view to allow both a closeness with the family and overall apprehension of the dim sum experience. Simple outlines and cheerful patterns have immediate appeal, but they also suggest a deliberate naiveté which, like informal doodling, returns nostalgic adults to childhood. Meandering texts add to the ebb and flow of the meal experience. Lin's book serves at once as a primer for new dim sum eaters and an impetus for a trip down memory lane for seasoned foodies. She captures an ambiance that my grandmother call renao 熱鬧, literally warmth and noise. Even as Lin stirs a hunger, her book satisfies.

Grace Lin
Dim Sum for Everyone
Knopf, 2001