Tasty but doesn’t quite hit the spot.
It’s dumpling day, and Sylvia goes from apartment to apartment to help make dumplings from different cultures.
The first stop is Sylvia’s friend Prisha’s apartment, where they make Indian momos. From there, the two friends continue on to Moria’s home to make Jamaican johnnycakes. Then the three kids visit Aaron’s to make his Jewish grandmother’s kreplach. This pattern continues until nine children are squeezed into the final kitchen to make Polish pierogi with Sylvia’s busha. A total of nine dumplings from families of varying skin tones are described and pictured along the way, culminating in a rooftop party. Readers will enjoy learning about different cultures’ dumpling traditions, and this book certainly celebrates culinary diversity. Illustrations featuring muted colors that tend toward warm sepia tones and a classic drawing style give the feeling of a throwback to an earlier time, but the human figures come across stiffly, with static poses and fixed expressions. Small inconsistencies in the story may trip up readers, such as the description of eating hot Georgian khinkali right after filling them with meat and spices, with no mention of cooking. This straightforward tale showcases some great food but is not as complex or emotionally satisfying as Dumplings for Lili (2021) by Melissa Iwai, which covers very similar territory. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Tasty but doesn’t quite hit the spot. (information on other kinds of dumplings) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1234-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Good fun for all little ninjas and their parents.
After swinging out from the jungle after a long day of ninja-ing, Will makes his way home just in time for a bath. But as all ninjas know, danger lurks around every corner.
Even naughty ninjas get hungry, but Dad says, “Pee-yew,” and insists his little ninja get clean before going near a morsel. Ever the Naughty Ninja, Will follows his dad into the bathroom and immediately spies danger: Poisonous flies that have followed him from the jungle! As any parent would, his dad begs him not to say, “Ninja to the rescue,” because we all know what comes after a catchphrase…chaos! Through each increasingly rough rescue, Dad finds himself more and more defeated in his quest to complete bathtime, but ultimately he starts to find the infectious joy that only the ridiculousness of children can bring out in an adult. The art is bright and finds some nifty ninja perspectives that use the space well. It also places an interracial family at its center: Dad has brown skin and dark, puffy hair, and Mom is a white redhead; when out of his ninja cowl, Will looks like a slightly lighter-skinned version of his father. Kids will laugh at everything the dad is put through, and parents will knowingly nod, because we have all had nights with little ninjas soaking the bathroom floor. The book starts out a little text heavy but finds its groove quickly, reading smoothly going forward. Lots of action means it’s best not to save this one for bedtime.
Good fun for all little ninjas and their parents. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-9433-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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