Dim Sum for Everyone! [Paperback]

Grace Lin (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

In English, dim sum means “little hearts,” or “touches the heart,” but to this young girl, dim sum means delicious. On a visit to a bustling dim sum restaurant, a family picks their favorite little dishes from the steaming trolleys filled with dumplings, cakes, buns, and tarts. And as is traditional and fun, they share their food with each other so that everyone gets a bite of everything.
Just right for young children, Dim Sum for Everyone! celebrates a cultural custom and a universal favorite activity–eating!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After waxing poetic about the advantages of a vegetable garden in The Ugly Vegetables, author/artist Grace Lin describes the pleasures of a Chinese dining tradition in Dim Sum for Everyone. From sweet pork buns to little egg tarts, the plentiful dishes arrive on metal carts for a grand smorgasbord. An endnote offers a brief history of dim sum; endpapers show the wide spectrum available for sampling.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-This tasty tradition is explored through simple text and realistic illustrations. A family with three daughters arrives at a restaurant for a meal of "little dishes." Carts are wheeled to each table and the guests select what they would like to eat. They each choose a favorite dish and then share with everyone at the table. When the plates and bowls are empty, the family looks satisfied and a little sleepy. The concluding note explains the cultural history of dim sum as well as the customs surrounding the meal. The endpapers feature an array of delicious ingredients, utensils, and items that are typical of this repast, all labeled in Chinese and English. The illustrations capture every detail from the texture and patterns of the clothing and food to the small jade necklace worn by the waitress. This enticing book can stand alone or supplement a lesson on food or Chinese culture.
Genevieve Ceraldi, New York Public Library
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dragonfly Books (January 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440417708
• ISBN-13: 978-0440417705
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 0.1 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American
  • #14 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American

More About the Author

Hello! Thanks so much for your interest in me and my books!

I grew up in Upstate NY with my parents and 2 sisters, whom are featured in many of my books, including "Dim Sum For Everyone!" and my novels, "The Year of the Dog" and "The Year of the Rat." My mother and I were the star characters in my first book, "The Ugly Vegetables"--I cut both my sisters out of that story! They were quite upset with me and made me promise never to cut them out again. And since then, I haven't...yet.

While many of my books highlight my family, not all of them do. My Newbery Honor-winning novel "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon," is an Asian inspired fantasy that some people call a Chinese 'Wizard of Oz,' and my early reader "Ling & Ting" is inspired by the old 'Flicka, Dicka & Ricka' books I read when I was young.

I hope you enjoy my books. Please visit my website: www.gracelin.com for more info about them (behind the scene stories and pictures) as well as other amusing anecdotes!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "two shoes", March 1, 2003

By 

Lee (VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dim Sum for Everyone (Hardcover)

My 2 yr old son absolutely loves this book! He can recite every single page!
I grew up speaking Cantonese and I didn't know how to pronounce all the dim sum dishes, but Ms. Lin has helped by listing the most popular dim sum dishes with the English translation and Cantonese pronunciations at the end of the book.
This book also contains very colorful illustrations and a little descriptive history on dim sum.
As for "two shoes", that is what seems to come out of my son's mouth whenever he tries to say "dishes". :)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dim Sum!, October 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dim Sum for Everyone (Hardcover)

Each person in the family picks out something different as the cart with the little dishes comes around in the dim sum restaurant. With a sing-song rhythm, Lin describes the familiar ritual of a family having dim sum together, describing as she does so a bit of Chinese culture. "Little dishes on carts. Little dishes on tables...Everyone eats a little bit of everything." Her illustrations show a table full of brightly colored plates topped with small portions of various foods: fried shrimp, turnip cakes, sweet tofu, and little egg tarts. Ma-Ma, Ba-Ba, and the three daughters wear clothes with intricate patterns, set against a backdrop of swirls. The effect is a rich mesh of textures and a collage of little plates! Lin ends the book simply as she began it with the statement, "Now there are empty little dishes." She includes the history of the dim sum tradition at the end of the book, as well as small pictures of each dim sum dish, labeled in English and Chinese.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro To Dim Sum, July 26, 2005

By 

C. Finn (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dim Sum for Everyone (Hardcover)

My three year old daughter loves this book. She enjoys picking out her favorite pieces of dim sum in the book and then pointing out my favorites. The illustrations are beautiful. My daughter likes to bring the book with her when we go out for dim sum and then she matches up the food items at the restaurant with the pictures in the book. It is a good book to introduce dim sum to a child.