A GARDEN FOR LILI

The young protagonist of Dumplings for Lili (2021) helps the grandmothers in her apartment building harvest produce from their community garden in preparation for a celebration.

Lili, who is of Chinese descent, is excited to pick strawberries from her garden plot to share at the upcoming block party. Her Nai Nai (Mandarin for Grandmother) is busy making fried rice and asks Lili to water the plants and bring back some green onions. Lili’s mother gives her some banana peels to feed “Mr. Nibbles.” (Readers curious about the enigmatic Mr. Nibbles will be rewarded by book’s end.) As Lili works, Abuela, another grandmother, visits, asking Lili to pick some tomatoes so she can make arroz roja—and reminding her to check for pests. More grandmothers appear, each saying hello in her native language, asking for an item from the garden for a dish she’s preparing and help with a chore, and offering something for Mr. Nibbles. The ensuing party is a joyous gathering with every grandmother bringing a rice-based dish from her culture. Lili and her world, rendered in soft colors and thin-lined details, are as charming and adorable as in her first outing. The repetitive parallel construction of the story allows Iwai to pack in a lot more information than she did in her earlier book, but the sense of community still shines above all. And Mr. Nibbles? He’s a compost tumbler—explained in Iwai’s copious backmatter.

A downright delicious farm-to-table tale stuffed with delectable details.