Dumpling Soup

Dumpling Soup is a realistic fiction picturebook intended for pre-k through 2nd grade. In Dumpling Soup, Marisa can finally make dumplings for her family's new year celebration. She gets discouraged when her dumplings are not as pretty as her fellow family members. I loved this book. Not only does it discuss self-esteem and such, but it also covers tradition and culture. At the beginning of the book, there is a glossary with Hawaiian, Japanese, and Korean translations and pronunciations. I believe that this allows students to dive into the culture. I do not know how well having students individually reading the book will go. I would recommend this picturebook to be used in a classroom. I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked this show more book because of the tradition and diversity within the book. But I didn't like the inclusion of so many foreign words to students. I feel as though the intent can backfire by confusing the students individually reading it. However, as a read aloud, this book can be utilized in such a meaningful way. show less

I thought this book was a great read for 3 reasons. First, the writing was very effective in conveying its message. The narrator starts off from the first page discussing family traditions through the recall of different things her family has said. For instance, she uses her Grandma’s nickname for the family “chop suey”, meaning all mixed up in order to illustrate the fact that her family is a culmination of many different heritages and backgrounds. Additionally, I think it was a good choice to include some writing in Korean along with English translations, because this made it more interesting to me. The second reason I enjoyed this book was because it is writing in an organic way and the plot events are believable. You can tell show more that the story is written from the perspective of a child who is describing the way the New Year family gathering is unfolding. The child starts off watching and wishing she could help her family prepare for their gathering, then she finally can help, but she struggles, and by the end of the night, Grandma passes out her funny-looking dumplings to everyone. They all love it. The third reason I enjoyed this book was because the book is fairly accurate to actual Korean traditions. My boyfriend is Korean, so last year I spent the Korean New Year making mondoo and I related to the little girl because I was a bit insecure about how my dumplings were turning out, compared to the rest of his family who had made them all their life. Additionally, through research I have seen that many of the traditions that the book describes, such as making dumplings together, bringing many foods and setting off fireworks. I think that the overall message of this story would be that although people have differences on the outside, they are the same on the inside, just like the dumplings are. show less

The blurb says it all, but too calmly. This is a full book, describing lots of customs etc. And it's so fun, it's worth the time it would take to read it to littles. The illustrations could be redone and it would sell better now, almost 3 decades on. A recipe would be fun, but I suppose there are so many dumpling recipes that the fact that the technique is described is sufficient. The glossary has to use four different languages to include all the terms that might be unfamiliar to mainland white American children. I really want some dumplings now (but I like them as potstickers, fried up a bit to give a little bit of char).

Dumpling Soup is a realistic fictional picture book that can be read or read allowed to ages pre-school- 3rd grade. This book is about a girl named Marisa who lives in Hawaii and is celebrating the New Year with her family. Throughout the book, Marisa explains her families tradition of making dumplings and how they make them. Marisa also tells some of her families other traditions such as going to her grandmother's house and staying up late. This is an excellent book because it shows the New Years culture of a different ethnicity in America. Students can either relate to this culture or learn about a new culture/tradition. I also like that this book has a glossary in English, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Korean to explain the different show more vocabulary and shows which language the words come from. show less

In my opinion this is a great book because it is a great tool to use to teach children about different cultures. The book tells the story of a young girl finally being able to participate in her family's tradition of making dumplings for her grandmother's soup. The book is set in Hawaii which has a combination of cultures there such as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian. I liked the illustrations and how they show the interactions between the family members. I also liked how in the beginning of the book there is a glossary of words from different languages that are used in the book, which is very beneficial for young children to be exposed to other languages and learn some new words. I also liked the big idea of this story which shows show more how important family is which teaches children of all cultural backgrounds that although your families may be different, family is important to everyone. show less

A child learns about her family's cultural history through a New Years celebration at her grandmother's. Because the little girl is now 7 years old, she's invited to help the adult women prepare the dumplings for NY's soup.

It's a cute story-- a bit long from younger kids, but possibly a good pick for 4th-6th grade classrooms. So much of the story is about family bonding. This is a book I'd want to have on my home bookshelf for bedtime stories-- I especially appreciate how it really naturally exemplifies that every family has a unique way of expressing love, though often the forms of expression are linked through cultural traditions.

This mouth-watering story is told by Marisa Yang, a little Asian-American girl of mixed heritage living in Hawaii. Her family, which gets together each New Year’s Eve for dumpling soup at her Grandma’s, include Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiians. Her grandma calls her family “chop suey,” which means “all mixed up.”

Since Marisa is 7 now, she gets to help make the dumplings, but hers turn out “funny-looking.” She feels quite insecure about it, until members of the family declare that hers taste delicious. She muses: "I think about how much everyone liked the dumpling soup. Even my funny dumplings. Maybe it was because we ate them at Grandma’s, all of us together.”

In the course of the story, we also learn about show more food from the other traditions in this eclectic family. A glossary, including pronunciations, is at the front of the book, which is very helpful since most glossaries are at the back where readers may not even realize they are included.

The illustrations by Lillian Hsu-Flanders capture the lovely colors of the Hawaiian landscape and diversity of the culture.

As a special bonus, on her web site the author features the "YANG FAMILY DUMPLING SOUP RECIPE." We also learn that the book is based on the author’s own childhood experiences of celebrating New Year's in Hawaii, and that all the main characters are based on real people from her family. show less