Have you ever had a dumpling? They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and can be found in cuisines of many cultures. Today, we are celebrating picture books about dumplings.
I even have a whole plan for you to turn dumplings into a Family Dinner Book Club.
Dumpling Books for Kids
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Dumplings cover a wide range of fillings covered with some type of dough. Dumplings can even be cooked in a variety of ways.
Dumpling Day by Meera Sriram is a delicious rhyming book that will have you counting all the different kinds of dumplings from tamales to gyoza. Oh, and there are 10 recipes included!
What’s in a Dumpling, Grandma? by Linda Meeker is a multi-generational tale about sharing food and memories. Together they make dumplings and learn about their family heritage.
Dumpling Dreams by Carrie Clickard is the story of chef Joyce Chen. The book has lots of yummy recipe variations at the end.
Head to Chinatown to collect ingredients to make dumplings in Laolao’s DumplingLaolao’s Dumplings by Dane Liu. Millie has learned to make dumplings from her Lao Lao. As the seasons change, more responsibility for dumpling making falls on Millie. Is she ready?
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan is a story of a young girl who gets to make dumplings for the first time with her family during their annual New Year’s gathering. Will anyone eat Marisa’s funny-looking dumplings?
Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai is the story of an apartment building filled with cooks making dumplings and one little girl who ensures everyone gets the right ingredients for their recipe. Join in on the tasty journey and discover lots of dumplings along the way. A recipe for baos is included in the backmatter.
This next book isn’t entirely about dumplings, but they make an appearance. Ten Blocks to the Big Wok: A Chinatown Counting Book by Ying-Hwa Hu is the story of a child and her uncle who are on their way to a restaurant. Along the way, Mia counts all the sights to see from one panda to red lanterns as they travel ten blocks. At the restaurant, they order ten soup dumplings to two egg tarts to one special dish to share with someone when they leave. (bilingual English/Mandarian)
Amy loves making bao with her family. It’s difficult to make a perfect bao and Amy is having difficulty getting her bao just right. Her dumplings are always too full or too empty. But, Amy has a plan to make her bao perfect just like her parents and grandmother. Check out Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang.
In Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang, a young girl falls asleep dreaming of dumplings. In her dream, she falls into a vat of filling and becomes a dumpling. And, she’s about to be served to the Empress.
Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum by Natasha Yim is part of the Storytelling Math series.
It’s Luna’s birthday and she is celebrating at a Chinese dim sum restaurant. Luna and her brothers are going to share six pork buns, but one falls on the floor. How will they divide the meal evenly now?
Empanadas for Everyone by Jackie Azúa Kramer celebrates all the different cultures that have some form of empanada in their cooking traditions. In this story, a young girl gathers and prepares the dish while learning from others in her community. The book includes a recipe for beef or chicken Puerto Rican empanadas.
Dumpling Family Dinner Book Club
Use the books above to create your very own Family Dinner Book Club. I have everything you need to have a successful book club.
- Great Book List
- Conversation Starters
- Themed Menu
Dumpling Books
Our featured read-aloud for Family Dinner Book Club is Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai, but you could also read a different book from the list above or even more than one. A printable list of books is included below.
Dumpling Conversation Starters
Here are a few discussion starters to jumpstart your dinner book club conversation. These are also included in the printable below.
- How were dumplings featured in the book we read?
- What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
- Did you learn anything new from reading this book?
- Have you ever made dumplings?
- How many different kinds dumplings have you enjoyed? What flavors do you think would make a good dumpling?
Dumpling Themed Menu
Enjoy these menu ideas and recipes for a fun and festive dinner while you discuss the book of the month. The menu and links are also included in the free printable below.
If you don’t want to attempt making dumplings for book club, there are lots of options to buy from places such as Trader Joe’s or your favorite take out place.
Crab Rangoon Dip with Wonton Chips
Printable Teatime Book List and Resource Pages
Grab the printable resource pack that includes the book list, conversation starters, and menu. Just click the purple button below.
Enjoy reading these books!
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