DANCING DUMPLINGS FOR MY ONE AND ONLY
Poetic text describes a child’s active grandmother as she “moves to tai chi beats” (“Slow. Firm. Focused”) and walks home in the autumn leaves (“ka-runch, ka-runch, ka-runch”). At home, the two prepare dumplings, dancing in the swirls of steam. As they eat them afterward, Grandma’s love “fills up my tummy.” Delicate illustrations full of movement and color portray family life through the seasons, while borders of flowers, leaves, and airy swirls frame many of the spreads. When Grandma falls ill, the story takes a turn as the child’s heart squeezes and “da-dubs with fear” and memories of Grandma float in the swirls of incense smoke. The profusion of flower imagery returns when Grandma recovers and both, noticeably changed by time, return to their old places for tai chi and dancing. Soon it’s the child’s turn to make dumplings for Grandma, and the same love fills their tummies. Similar themes are more poignantly expressed in Laolao’s Dumplings by Dane Liu and Shinyeon Moon, but the art shines here. The child, grandmother, and mother, who present East Asian, are depicted throughout as the family unit.
