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THE UGLY DUMPLING

Name: THE UGLY DUMPLING
Author: Stephanie Campisi
ISBN: 978-1-938063-67-1

by Stephanie Campisi ; illustrated by Shahar Kober ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2016

Quirky retellings often lean on clever titles alone, but this surpasses and delights.

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A bright, multicultural twist on a classic tale.

At a local dim sum restaurant, a tiny dumpling sits, sad and alone. Although it is quite an adorable little ball of dough, it does not look like any of the other dumplings. It tries everything it can think of to fit in, even wearing pleated pants to mimic the others’ wrinkly exteriors, but nothing works. It is always pushed to the side—until a cockroach sees it and falls in love. The cockroach takes the dumpling on an incredible adventure through the restaurant, scaling tall mountains of flour, surfing down a splash of tea, and gazing at the blazing sunset (or fire from a wok). The dumpling learns of beauty and acceptance. But then the dumpling sees something else. Other dumplings! That look exactly like it! They are not, in fact, dumplings at all, but steamed buns. The dumpling finally finds its place in the world. But how will the cockroach fit in? Specifically told without gendered pronouns, this is simply a story about love. Kober’s illustrations are characterized by delicious changes in perspective, and Campisi’s sly, humorous asides ensure that the message of identity is not heavy-handed: “The ugly dumpling was overjoyed. / It puffed with meaning. / It puffed with importance / and yeast.”

Quirky retellings often lean on clever titles alone, but this surpasses and delights. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 7, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-938063-67-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Mighty Media

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
QUACKS LIKE A DUCK
by Stephanie Campisi ; illustrated by Maria Lebedeva

- BOOK REVIEW
AXOLOTLS
by Stephanie Campisi ; illustrated by Susanna Covelli

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE SISTERS
by Stephanie Campisi ; illustrated by Madalina Andronic

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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THE BIG CHEESE

From the Food Group series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023

From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers.

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A winning wheel of cheddar with braggadocio to match narrates a tale of comeuppance and redemption.

From humble beginnings among kitchen curds living “quiet lives of pasteurization,” the Big Cheese longs to be the best and builds success and renown based on proven skills and dependable results: “I stuck to the things I was good at.” When newcomer Wedge moves to the village of Curds-on-Whey, the Cheese’s star status wobbles and falls. Turns out that quiet, modest Wedge is also multitalented. At the annual Cheese-cathlon, Wedge bests six-time winner Cheese in every event, from the footrace and chess to hat making and bread buttering. A disappointed Cheese throws a full-blown tantrum before arriving at a moment of truth: Self-calming, conscious breathing permits deep relief that losing—even badly—does not result in disaster. A debrief with Wedge “that wasn’t all about me” leads to further realizations: Losing builds empathy for others; obsession with winning obscures “the joy of participating.” The chastened cheddar learns to reserve bragging for lifting up friends, because anyone can be the Big Cheese. More didactic and less pun-rich than previous entries in the Food Group series, this outing nevertheless couples a cheerful refrain with pithy life lessons that hit home. Oswald’s detailed, comical illustrations continue to provide laughs, including a spot with Cheese onstage doing a “CHED” talk.

From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers. (Picture book. 4-8)