Dumpling Dreams
How Joyce Chen Brought the Dumpling from Beijing to Cambridge
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Through appealing digitally rendered illustrations and upbeat rhyming text, Clickard celebrates the life of Chen in a way that entertains and informs.” —School Library Journal
“A fascinating historical character is presented in terms easy for young children to appreciate.” —Kirkus Reviews
In this inspiring, mouthwatering story, get to know Chef Joyce Chen who is famous for popularizing Chinese food in the northeastern United States.
How far can an apron,
a bowl, or a book
take one small Chinese girl
with a passion to cook?
From peach blossom Beijing,
to crisp Cambridge snow,
how far will her dumpling dreams
help Joyce Chen go?
Carrie Clickard’s delectable rhymes tell the story of how Joyce Chen, a girl born in Communist China, immigrated to the United States and popularized Chinese cooking. Illustrator Katy Wu brings this inspiring story beautifully and deliciously to life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Joyce Chen (born in Beijing in 1917 as Liao Jia-ai) made a name for herself in Cambridge, Mass., and later across the U.S. through her restaurants, cookbooks, and TV show, Joyce Chen Cooks. In chirpy couplets, Clickard follows Chen's childhood infatuation with cooking, her later move to the U.S. with her husband and growing family, and her expanding culinary empire. Wu's brightly colored digital artwork maintains a cheerful mood, even during moments of nervousness or uncertainty. The clipped verse can't always do justice to major events in Chen's life ("Troubles come. War in the news./ The heart of China split in two./ Days of worry, nights of fear / even dumplings taste of tears"), but a detailed timeline fills in some context, along with other resources. Ages 4 8. Author's)
