Dumpling Dreams: How Joyce Chen Brought the Dumpling from Beijing to Cambridge

by Carrie Clickard, Katy Wu (Illustrator)

Overview

“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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481467070
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	221,090
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Carrie Clickard is the master of rhyming nonfiction. She is the author of Dumpling Dreams, which School Library Journal called “a charming addition.” Kirkus Reviews called it “a fascinating historical character is presented in terms easy for young children to appreciate.” She is also the author of Magic for Sale, which received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, and Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Hunt. She lives in Gainesville, Florida. Learn more at CLClickard.com.

Katy Wu has worked in the animated feature film industry as a sketch artist and assistant art director, as well as in the tech industry as a “Doodler” for Google (creating the artwork and short films showcased on Google’s landing page), where she created the Google “Doodles” for Nellie Bly and Nelson Mandela. Katy currently works as a freelance art director and designer on various animation projects. She has illustrated many nonfiction books for young readers, including Dumpling Dreams by Carrie Clickard and Born Curious by Martha Freeman. Learn more at KatyCWWU.Tumblr.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/07/2017
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 agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

The rhyming text and brightly colored digital illustrations maintain an upbeat, positive tone appropriate for a young audience, even as they allude to serious topics, such as war in China causing Joyce’s family to relocate to the U.S., and the difficulties of adapting to a new culture. A glossary effectively explains many elements pictured but not detailed in the text, while a time line at the end fills in historical context. Includes dumpling recipes for those eager to taste for themselves.

Booklist

The rhyming text and brightly colored digital illustrations maintain an upbeat, positive tone appropriate for a young audience, even as they allude to serious topics, such as war in China causing Joyce’s family to relocate to the U.S., and the difficulties of adapting to a new culture. A glossary effectively explains many elements pictured but not detailed in the text, while a time line at the end fills in historical context. Includes dumpling recipes for those eager to taste for themselves.

Booklist

09/01/2017
K-Gr 2—A picture book biography about Joyce (born Liao Jia-ai) Chen, who is credited with bringing the dumpling to the United States. Through appealing digitally rendered illustrations and upbeat rhyming text, Clickard celebrates the life of Chen in a way that entertains and informs. The narrative begins with Chen's life as a child in China and then quickly transitions to her early adulthood as she marries, has children, and moves to the United States, eventually settling in Cambridge, MA. The text gently touches on the Chinese Communist Revolution: "The heart of China split in two." (This may prompt students to ask about Chen's family leaving China, but further information about the time period can be found in the time line in the back matter.) Her name change is also glossed over. Chen would go on to first popularize Chinese cuisine in her community through a restaurant and then in the larger United States through a cookbook and TV show. A recipe for making dumplings at home is also included in the back matter. Fans of Lynne Barasch's Hiromi's Hands, Susanna Reich's Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat, and Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee's Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix will find much to enjoy here. VERDICT Though picture book biographies with a culinary theme are many, Clickard's title is a charming addition.—Celia Dillon, The Brearley School, New York

School Library Journal

2017-06-27
One of America's most famous 20th-century immigrants, Joyce Chen, gained notoriety the hard way.Brought up in pre-revolutionary China, Chen left Shanghai with her husband and two children in 1949 to immigrate to the U.S., where she settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lively cartoonish pastel-and-crayon illustrations and rhyming couplets show how young Jia (later renamed Joyce) learned to cook with a man the text simply calls Cook, possibly a family servant, mastering the traditional art of making dumplings, noodles, and sweet rice balls. At the dragon boat festival, she proudly presents her father with her own creation, zongzi rice packages tightly tied "with five bright strings." Once in the U.S., Joyce and her children face the challenge of life in America: "New words to learn. Strange food to try." Chen becomes a mentor to other Chinese immigrants and is soon inspired to open a restaurant. The restaurant is immediately popular, but her dumplings aren't. She overcomes the perception of Chinese food as "gluey stew" by rebranding her dumplings as "Peking Ravioli." A cookbook and a TV show soon follow, and she has successfully introduced authentic Chinese cuisine to the East Coast. A timeline, glossary, bibliography, and dumpling recipes are included. A fascinating historical character is presented in terms easy for young children to appreciate, and requests to experiment with dumpling dough will certainly ensue. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews