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

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.

... 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.

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.

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??

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