Dumplings for Lili

Starred review from April 26, 2021
Chinese youngster Lili is thrilled when her Nai Nai asks if she wants to help make bao. But when Nai Nai realizes they’re out of cabbage, she sends Lili—and Shiba Inu Kiki—to request some from Babcia, a blue-eyed, white-haired grandmother making pierogi on the building’s sixth floor. Babcia happily hands over a head—but then asks Lili to get potatoes from Granma, a Black grandmother with periwinkle spectacles on the second floor who’s making Jamaican beef patties. In this way, Lili’s relay continues as she requests and delivers dumpling ingredients for six grandmothers. Author-illustrator Iwai’s prose is approachable and heartwarming; in one spread, she advises readers to let bao dough “take a catnap in a warm place while you make the filling.” The art is similarly friendly, punctuated by speech bubbles. A resonant portrait of intergenerational care, and a toothsome celebration of how food unites a multicultural community. Back matter includes a bao recipe. Ages 6–8.

May 15, 2021
When Nai Nai declares it's time to make bao, grandchild Lili is thrilled! Baos are Lili's favorite food, and thanks to Nai Nai, Lili knows the eight secrets to making delicious baos. But Nai Nai doesn't have the cabbage leaves she needs for secret No. 8 (a discovery that elicits the Chinese expostulation "Zao gao!"), so Lili visits a neighbor to ask for some. Nearly every grandmotherly neighbor also needs an integral ingredient to make dumplings from their respective cultural cuisines. Lili helpfully runs about the building taking ingredients from one person to another. Finally, plates and steamers and bowls of dumplings are brought outside to celebrate the arrival of Lili's new baby brother, swaddled in blankets like a "little dumpling treasure." Like a good dumpling, the elements of this story are well known yet the combination is reassuring. Lili's narration tells a linear story filled with cheerful interactions with kindly neighbors. The textured, brightly colored illustrations exude warmth. Depictions of characters and items in their homes match the cultures of their names. For instance, pierogi-cooking Babcia has pale skin and white hair, and her apartment is adorned with Eastern European objects and patterns. A detailed recipe for Nai Nai's baos is appended, and all the various dumplings are highlighted and named on the endpapers. This celebration of the universality of cooking to convey love is both familiar and satisfying. (Picture book. 4-8)

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September 1, 2021
Lili's Nai Nai is out of cabbage for the baos she is making and sends her granddaughter off to see if Babcia, up on the sixth floor of her apartment building, has any. Yes, Babcia does, but she is out of potatoes for her pierogi and sends Lili to ask Granma down on the second floor. Granma has potatoes but needs garlic for her Jamaican beef patties. So off Lili goes to Abuela on the fourth floor for garlic. The pattern continues with Nonna (making ravioli) and Teta (making Lebanese fatayer). Lili finally returns to Nai Nai, tells her of her adventures, and helps finish the baos by lining the steamer basket with the (finally) procured cabbage leaves. When all the grandmothers arrive for an outdoor party, they are each carrying their various dumpling treasures. But where have Lili's mama and papa been all this time? Surprise! They come home with her new baby brother, "another little dumpling treasure!" Iwai employs a bright palette and effectively plays with perspective (as in Lili's dizzying glance down the building's stairwell). Especially entertaining are the scenes of Lili making baos with Nai Nai and the chart of Lili's journey, like a game board showing all the moves she has made. In their generosity and joy of cooking, Nai Nai and her friends are kindred spirits to the title character in Oge Mora's Thank You, Omu! (rev. 11/18). A detailed recipe for making baos is appended. Dean Schneider

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 3 *Starred Review* Lili is visiting Nai Nai, her grandmother, who lives in a six-story apartment building with a granny on every floor. Today, each is preparing her own special dumplings, but Nai Nai needs cabbage leaves for making bao (steamed buns). Lili runs upstairs and borrows some from Babcia. On the second floor, Granma gives Lili potatoes for Babcia's pierogi. Going upstairs and down repeatedly, Lili fetches garlic from Abuela for Granma's beef patties, cumin from Nonna for Abuela's tamales, and for Nonna's ravioli, olive oil from Teta, who's making fatayer. The six grandmothers take "their little dumpling treasures" to a feast in the garden. And when Lili's parents arrive with her new baby brother, they all celebrate together. This colorful picture book combines intergenerational affection with international culinary traditions. Lili's first-person narrative reads aloud well. Created with both traditional and digital media, the many bright, dynamic scenes showing Lili with the grandmothers are summed up in an appealing, board game-like diagram detailing her errands. From the intriguing picture of the tall, narrow apartment building to the final image of Lili holding her baby brother, the artwork radiates warmth and charm. A sunny picture book in which neighbors gather to welcome the newborn to their close-knit, multicultural community.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
Lili's Nai Nai is out of cabbage for the baos she is making and sends her granddaughter off to see if Babcia, up on the sixth floor of her apartment building, has any. Yes, Babcia does, but she is out of potatoes for her pierogi and sends Lili to ask Granma down on the second floor. Granma has potatoes but needs garlic for her Jamaican beef patties. So off Lili goes to Abuela on the fourth floor for garlic. The pattern continues with Nonna (making ravioli) and Teta (making Lebanese fatayer). Lili finally returns to Nai Nai, tells her of her adventures, and helps finish the baos by lining the steamer basket with the (finally) procured cabbage leaves. When all the grandmothers arrive for an outdoor party, they are each carrying their various dumpling treasures. But where have Lili's mama and papa been all this time? Surprise! They come home with her new baby brother, "another little dumpling treasure!" Iwai employs a bright palette and effectively plays with perspective (as in Lili's dizzying glance down the building's stairwell). Especially entertaining are the scenes of Lili making baos with Nai Nai and the chart of Lili's journey, like a game board showing all the moves she has made. In their generosity and joy of cooking, Nai Nai and her friends are kindred spirits to the title character in Oge Mora's Thank You, Omu! (rev. 11/18). A detailed recipe for making baos is appended.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)