Moonbeams, Dumplings, & Dragon Boats Illustrated by Meilo So

Bibliography

Simonds, Nina, Leslie Swartz and The Children’s Museum, Boston. Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats. San Diego: Harcourt Children’s Books, 2002. ISBN 0152019839

Plot Summary

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats allows the reader to explore four different festivals of the Chinese culture and the history behind those cultures.  It is full of Chinese characters, recipes, riddles and even arts and crafts projects that go along with each festival.  There is even a materials list that accompanies each craft project.  The information is vast, well researched and fascinating.  The authors include information on Chinese New Year, The Lantern Festival, Qing Ming and the Cold Foods Festival, The Dragon Boat Festival and Med-Autumn Moon Festival.  The beginning of the book includes an explanation of the lunar calendar, which dictates the time of each Chinese festival.  The authors also include a resource list for further information and a Chinese pronunciation guide.

Critical Analysis

Each chapter begins with a gorgeous and colorful display of Chinese artwork by Meilo So.  She continues her illustrations throughout the book, which seem to cover every page.  She even aids the reader by providing illustrations with the recipes to make it easier to understand.

The text is large and easy to read.  The stories are full of colorful details to keep the reader interested.  The arts and crafts projects, recipes and riddles are welcome additions to the festival information and allow the reader to really become involved and better understand the festivals; although, Meilo So steals the show with her gorgeous Chinese illustrations.  Anyone interested in the Chinese culture will find this book helpful.

Review Excerpts

Starred Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Moonbeams is a useful, visually appealing addition to any holiday collection”.
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “Step-by-step illustrations aid in food preparation or crafts such as New Year Prints or Good Luck Characters in this elegantly designed volume”.
BOOKLIST: “Attractively designed, the pages include plenty of white space, creating a fine background for So’s brilliantly colored, stylized paintings”.

Connections

*Begin a discussion on different cultural celebrations from around the world.  Have students share festivals that they have participated in.
*Actually have the students create some of the arts and crafts projects and serve food made from the recipes in the book.
*Try and figure out the Lantern Riddles and have the students create their own riddles.