Name: Dumplings for Lili
ISBN: 9781324003427

Melissa Iwai

A heartfelt picture book celebration of food, community, and family--and little dumpling treasures from around the world.

Dumplings for Lili

Briar's Reviews

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai is a lovely picture book!

Lili is over the moon when Nai Nai asks her to make baos. There are secrets to making baos though, so pay attention when reading this book! The secrets in this book make me smile, and also show me the incredible journey of making a bao (which I had previously seen in the Disney-Pixar short Bao, but who doesn't want to learn more?!). 

This is a must read on my list! It's a fun tale about family and cooking. Who doesn't want a story about bringing people together?! And learning different foods from different cultures is probably the best bonus this book can offer. Learning is fun folks! 

The illustrations are also fabulous! I enjoy so many different styles in picture books these days. I love how different everything has gotten. No one seems to follow one distinct look anymore - it's great!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, W. W. Norton & Company and Norton Young Readers for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Lysh (She/Her)

*Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please note that I am not an own voices reviewer and it is important to read and respond to members of these communities first and foremost*

What a beautiful celebration of multiculturalism and community through the simple dumpling. Lili is staying with her Nai Nai (grandmother) and is very excited because she gets to make Bao Buns! But one of the secrets to Nai Nai's perfect Baos is lining the steamer with cabbage, and she is out of cabbage. Lili must run to the other grandmothers in the building to borrow some Cabbage for their meal, helping each with their own dumpling creations along the way. 

I adored the beauty of the illustrations in this text and the simple noting of each grandma's name in their native language to let the reader know their cultural identities. The cultures represented include polish, latina, BIPOC, Italian, Lebanese and Chinese.  

There's also a full recipe included at the end of the books so you can make Nai Nai's special Bao Buns yourself. 

I can see this text easily being used in lower primary classrooms to stimulate conversation about community and support the wide range of cultures present amongst the students themselves. Civics and Citizenship units would benefit from the addition of this text. 

I recommend this book to children aged 4-7.

Dumplings for Lili

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