 |
Reviewed by: Ana Canino-Fluit, Elementary School Librarian Title: Chinese Menu Author: Grace Lin Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: 3-7 Genre/Type of Book: Non-Fiction, History, Short Story, Myths
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: It is not a cookbook athough it includes a few recipes Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Grace Lin's Chinese mythology inspired books are classics and popular with all my students. If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: Chinese Menu by Grace Lin is a hard book to categorize. It is part history book, part memoir and part short-story collection and completely wonderful.
|
Review:
Using the structure of a menu, Grace Lin pairs remembrances and reflections of her Chinese American childhood with legends and myths related to Chinese American cookery. Through these stories and reflections the delicious, complicated and ever evolving history of the Chinese diaspora is presented and honored. I loved reading the stories that inspired, influenced the creation of or have become associated with some of my favorite dishes but I was deeply fascinated by the deftly conversational way Grace Lin introduced each one.
This book should appeal to anyone who has ever eaten in an American Chinese restaurant and wondered about the names on the menus or the way things are done and presented. It is also a fabulous and clear-eyed celebration of the adaptability and resilience of immigrant communities as they strive to thrive in new settings, often in under less than ideal conditions, sometimes even actively hostile ones.
While Chinese Menu is wonderful, the one thing it isn’t is a cookbook, despite the handful of recipes it collects and the Dewey number provided by the publisher of 641.595. I would recommend instead for it to be shelved in the 290s for Mythology or 390s for Folklore and Customs.
Number of party hats:
Find resources for Chinese Menu at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website
Access this book in Monroe One BOCES SORA Account: