The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Compestine, Ying Chang

Boy Dumplings: A Tasty Chinese Tale

40 pp. | Immedium | April, 2016 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8234-1955-5 $15.95
New ed. (2009, Holiday)

(4) K-3 Translated by Carissa Duan. Illustrated by James Yamasaki. In the English/Chinese bilingual edition (Chinese translation not evaluated) of an original fable, a hungry ghost in Beijing sets his sights on a plump little boy. The clever kid convinces the ghost to follow a recipe for "boy dumplings" ("1 chubby boy, 10 pounds stinky garlic..."), which requires many distracting errands for supplies. Ghoulish watercolor illustrations occasionally veer into garish territory.

Reviewer: Nell Beram