Dumpling Days (2012) by Grace Lin

Ever since reading my first Grace Lin book, I’ve been hooked.  Like The Year of The Dog, Dumpling Days is a fiction book based on some of Grace’s childhood experiences.

Pacy and her family head to Taiwan for the summer to visit relatives and celebrate her grandmother’s 60th birthday party.  Reluctant to make this trip at first, Pacy ends up finding a world of life lessons awaiting her.  She is constantly surprised by new sights and traditions.  While some parts of the trip make Pacy uncomfortable— not knowing the language and learning some lessons the hard way— she also finds joy as she learns more about Taiwan, her family, and herself.

I loved this book.  It’s simple in that it basically follows Pacy and her family as they explore Taiwan, but there’s so much more to it.  I felt like I learned a lot about Taiwan’s culture, right along with Pacy.  The book is scattered with lovely, little sketches by Ms. Lin of some of the simplest-seeming things — a picture of their meal or the dress she wore to dinner or even the toilet that played music — but they all add so much to the book.  Even our 3-year old has fallen in love with this book.  We “read” it every night now; I flip through the pages, summarizing the story and pointing out the pictures.  For The Year of the Dog, Grace Lin posted a small discussion of what parts were fiction vs. what parts were true; I kind of wish she had done so with this book as well.  She does have a dumpling recipe posted on her site, which I’m so eager to try!

Anyway, this is a great book, which I’ve already ordered to have our own copy at home.

Dumpling Days (2012)

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