Disclosure: As a book reviewer of Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I received a copy of Brandon Makes Jiǎo zi (餃子) to review. All opinions are my own.

Brandon is a young boy who loves Chinese dumplings, jiăo zi 餃子|饺子.  One day after school, Mom had a surprise for him in the car.  He had a special visitor from China and you will see who that is in Brandon Makes Jiao Zi (餃子) .

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi book review| Miss Panda Chinese

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) is written by Eugenia Chu and is illustrated by Helena Chu Ho.  Eugenia Chu is an attorney turned writer and she is raising a bilingual child.  In a conversation with the author, Chu mentioned that she has gone to his son’s class, read a story about Chinese New Year and done a craft since her boy started school.

Her experience of presenting a culture program to kids reflects on her writing.  She knows exactly how to catch the attention of young readers with her story.  You can read the playful and fun elements in Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子).  When you visit the author’s website make sure you listen to Chu’s energetic and entertaining reading of the book!

Brandon Makes Jiao Zi book review | Miss Panda Chinese

Making dumplings in Chinese culture is a family event during the Chinese Lunar New Year.  In Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) , it is also a family affair and it is with the special visitor from China.  After reading this book you will feel like trying to make some dumplings as well.

 

The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: Even the simplest food is a gift.  -Laurie Colwin, American writer

Chinese New Year Making Dumplings | Miss Panda Chinese

                             Chinese Lunar New Year Grade level Dumpling-Making Event!

 

One more noteworthy feature of the book is that Chu adds the Chinese language to this engaging story.  Language and culture go hand in hand and this book has both.  Text of this book contains key words and expressions written in traditional Chinese characters in the story.  This book is for children with any culture background.  It is also a good pick for parents who want to expose their child to Chinese language and share multiculture through the joy of reading.

This is a lovely debut children’s book by Eugenia Chu. 

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) is available at Amazon.

Available in: Paperback. Hardcover. Kindle.

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Release date: June 27, 2017

Brandon Makes Jiao Zi book review | Miss Panda Chinese

About Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal BoweGokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham Author Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs:

MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

12 Comments
  1. Love this so much!!!! Thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️

  2. This is great! I love that there is audio available for the book. It makes all the difference for parents and teachers who need support with the language. Thank you for sharing this book!

    • Multiculture books connect children and adults from different background in such a beautiful way. The audio support of the book really makes a big difference. So glad to share this new release.

  3. I love this book. It invites all of us to dive in and enjoy dumplings and reading. A win win in my world. Thanks so much for sharing and celebrating MCBD with us.

    • Totally agree with you such an adorable book to enjoy with the whole family. One of the superpower of reading is you can even “taste” the joy of reading! We are so excited about MCBD! Happy Multicultural Children’s Book day!

  4. This looks like a really sweet story that would be perfect to share in a classroom! Thanks for participating in MCBD!

  5. You write, “after reading this book you will feel like trying to make some dumplings.” This is absolutely true for us! Since we read it, my son has been asking me when we will make jiao zi! Although I can’t make those, we have a different dumpling on the menu for this week, and he can’t wait.

    • This sounds fantastic and yummy! What a fun way to read and taste the world! Love to know what your boy thinks about dumplings.