Customer Reviews

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

... I was looking for Chinese folk tales. What a great surprise! I am totally envious of kids today who get books like these -- how I wish they had something like this when I was little so that I would have been more familiar with my own cultural background. The book is organized by following the Chinese traditions/festivals/holidays through the course of a year. Stories, recipes, activities are paired with each holiday to give you a full sense of what happens on each one of these special occasions. I recognized bits and pieces of the folklore from the stories that my mom and grandparents told me when I was growing up...so it really feels authentic (not watered down) yet still accessible. The watercolors/illustrations are beautiful to look at too. Highly recommended.

what a delight for children and their parents and teachers!! in a world consumed by suspicion and fear of "the other" here is a wonderful and friendly guide to a culture teeming with fabulous cuisine and colorful celebrations. this is indeed one world, and introducing young children to each other in this gentle journey through kitchen and holidays has to point to a better world for all children. beautiful, colorful, easy to follow recipes, and wonderfully interesting, this book is a winner! enthusiastically recommended! norman d. levine, md

This is a beautifully executed book. The watercolors alone are worth the purchase, but it also includes very clever, not too difficult activities. How can you not be enthralled by thousands of years-old traditions and folklore??

This book is absolutely fantastic in it's overall illustrative, watercolor depictions of bringing about the folktales and legends to life that have influenced the Chinese holidays I have come to know and celebrate. There are great craft activities on making dragon boats for the Dragon boat festival, fabulous recipes you can make to enjoy authentic Chinese cuisine, as well reading entertaining stories from which these legends originated from. I have bought this book mainly to gain some insight into the story behind the Spring Festival of the Kitchen God for my Oral Communications Speech, and it's provided me with a recipe along with illustrations which my friend has used for our Power Point presentation. I would recammend this book to anyone looking to explore the history of Chinese culture and cuisine because it has been valuable to me.

From Nina Simonds, comes an entertaining activity book that combines the enchantment of ancient Chinese tales with lessons of tradition and history. A blending of delightful storytelling and colorful illustration makes this a cultural delight.

Very pretty book for those of us visual learners. Concrete and abstract examples of Chinese culture, good for children of different ages.

This book is filled with inspirational stories, fantastic recipies, and nifty craft ideas - perfect for celbrating all chinese holidays - great to share with your child

A nice book full of pictures and stories about the various festivals. There are craft items to make and food to cook. A good idea for those who are trying to incorporate chinese culture into their family life.

Hardcover edition. My mom bought this book for me after I wouldn't stop raving about it after checking it out of our local library. Chinese culture has always fascinated me and this book gave me an overall idea of the culture. Great recipes of traditional food, a variety of craft projects for kids of all ages, and tales of how the traditions started. It also includes an overview of Chinese holidays such as the Chinese New Year, the Dragonboat Festival, and the Festival of Lights. *Mom's footnote - My daughter was born in the year of the Dragon.

We are in the long wait for an adopted sister from China and this book has been invaluable for communicating to our son what his soon-to-be sister's culture is like. It is beautifully illustrated and great for teaching him and preparing him for the holidays we will be celebrating. Very informative with great crafts and recipes. The festival introductions are great as well. We have actually made a few of the crafts. The puppet show was a huge hit!