LET'S GO YUM CHA!

A child of Asian heritage eats a delicious meal at a Chinese restaurant in Felix’s debut picture book.

Yum cha is a Chinese meal of dim sum and hot tea. An unseen narrator asks a child questions, such as “Do you see the cups being filled with hot tea?” and uses affectionate terms, including “my little dumpling.” Debut writer Felix effectively emphasizes noises with repetition and capitalization: the “CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!” of the dishes and the “SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!” of the lazy Susan on the circular table. Mariana’s full-color illustrations are quite fun, especially when playing with perspective; the child is occasionally miniaturized, apparently to demonstrate their outsized love of dim sum. The images, which use plenty of red, give the boy excited expressions and show the food in great detail. The narration describes siu mai as wearing “yellow pants with orange polka dots,” calls har gow “a purse filled with the sea,” and name-checks fluffy cha siu bao. It would have been helpful, though, if the text supplied translations and pronunciations for some Cantonese terms, such as mai dan, for readers who may be unfamiliar. Caregivers and kids may wish to read the work in conjunction with eating yum cha for deeper appreciation.

Youngsters will enjoy consuming this well-illustrated yum cha tale.