I loved this book! The illustrations are fun and made me hungry! I loved how she interacted with her neighbors and they all came together for a wonderful meal! Beautiful book with lovely recipe.


Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

A cute book that teaches children about different foods and languages. When Lili is cooking baos with her Nai Nai and in the recipe for baos in the back of the book, "secrets" are included in the directions to make it more fun for kids. There are also silly cooking descriptions such as letting the ingredients "make friends" and letting the dough "take a "catnap." As Lili visits all the grandmothers in her grandmother's building, words and phrases that mean "hello," "grandmother," "oh no," and "dumpling" are introduced in a variety of languages such as Polish and Arabic. I also enjoyed the map at the end of the book that showed Lili's travels up and down the stairs and what kind of dumplings each grandmother was making and what ingredient they were missing. The ending is sweet, as we find out why Lili has been spending time at her Nai Nai's house.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This is a perfect book - it has dumplings and grandmothers in it. What more could you want? Oh, representation of different cultures, families, and people - yup, it has that too. I cannot wait to read this one to my daughter, who would eat dumplings for every meal if we let her. ,

Dumplings for Lili is a beautiful book that highlights cooperation and diversity. Melissa Iwai’s celebration of multiculturalism and community is present in every page, through the story and the stunning illustrations. Can we take a moment and appreciate Iwai’s talent? She not only wrote, but illustrated this book and I feel honoured to have her vision on a page. It reads like a gift to children.

Dumplings for Lili show us to be kind to others, to respect our elders, empowers children to help in the kitchen, embraces diversity with accuracy, care and respect. Not only that, but you walk away with a delicious original recipe. I think the author knew it’s impossible not to be hungry after reading her book!

I can’t wait for its release on June 1 so I can share with my classroom. There are so many things we can draw from this book to enhance our dialogue and I might even try to make the recipe with my students! That would be a fun way to help them with their numeracy and fine motor skills!

Thank you Melissa Iwai, Norton Young Readers, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of Dumplings for Lili in exchange for my honest review.

#DumplingsforLili #NetGalley

A wonderful story of community coming around food regardless of culture. I loved how Lili interacted with all the women in her building and how they all come together to celebrate a new life.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a sweet story, about different cultures and different grandmas, essentially making the same food, whether its called bao, patty or tamale. The building is of neighborly love, where all the neighbors are wiling to lend out different ingredients to make food, and then have a big potluck together.

It's a good book to read with my daughter, to show her people of different culture and backgrounds, enjoying the same type of food, and sharing the love through eating together.

I loved this book! It is a charming story of different grandmas living in a block of flats who need help with cooking their favourite dumplings: tamales, pierogi, bao, patties... A lovely way to introduce a child to variety of cuisines and cultures. Plus - lovely illustrations by the author.

The exact representation I wish I had seen when I was a kid. I absolutely love how the book highlighted the different yet similar foods being made across floors and cultures. Even better that there's a recipe in the back, I must try it soon.

I almost want to buy copies of this book for when I do have young children in my life! Like Oprah, all be handing them out to everyone!

A delightful introduction to delicious wrapped foods from various cultures! An apartment building full of cooking grandmothers -- what a dream! With exciting action verbs as Lili tromps up and down the stairs retrieving ingredients from one culturally-specific apartment and delivering them to another, this community-minded picture book will leave readers smiling but hungry. Cha!

Lili and her Nai Nai (Mandarin for grandmother) wanted to make some baos, but they needed one more ingredient before they could steam their baos. Thus begin Lili's journey all up and down her apartment building finding ingredients to help the grandmothers in the building make different kinds of dumplings (LOVE the nods to different cultures here, with the different languages and types of dumplings like fatayeh and ravioli!)

I could definitely see how this book could be such a great vehicle for young kids to learn about different cultures through food, and how we live in a rich multicultural society. Perhaps we could even make some baos after that! :)

I received the ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

What a fun picture book about cooking and sharing amongst neighbors. A young child is making baos with Nai Nai. When they are missing an ingredient the child is sent throughout the building, meeting all the grandmother. We learn about different food from different cultures. The illustrations are beautiful and the back of the book has a recipe for baos. Pair this with Thank You Omu by Oge Mora for storytime.

What a beautiful celebration of multiculturalism and community through the simple dumpling. Lili is staying with her Nai Nai (grandmother) and is very excited because she gets to make Bao Buns! But one of the secrets to Nai Nai's perfect Baos is lining the steamer with cabbage, and she is out of cabbage. Lili must run to the other grandmothers in the building to borrow some Cabbage for their meal, helping each with their own dumpling creations along the way.

I adored the beauty of the illustrations in this text and the simple noting of each grandma's name in their native language to let the reader know their cultural identities. The cultures represented include polish, latina, BIPOC, Italian, Lebanese and Chinese. 

There's also a full recipe included at the end of the books so you can make Nai Nai's special Bao Buns yourself.

I can see this text easily being used in lower primary classrooms to stimulate conversation about community and support the wide range of cultures present amongst the students themselves. Civics and Citizenship units would benefit from the addition of this text.

I recommend this book to children aged 4-7.

This is a gem! Lili has learned all the secrets to making baos from her beloved Nai Nai. They are almost finished making baos when Nai Nai realizes that they are missing an ingredient. This sets Lili off on a trek up and down the stairs to the apartments of all the building’s other grandmas as she helps them get the ingredients that each of them needs to finish their favorite kind of dumplings. This is such a sweet story with the different cultural traditions naturally woven in through Lili’s interactions with all the building’s grandmas. The recipe for baos in the back of the book is a bonus!

When I finished Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai (June 1, 2021), my first thought was simply that I absolutely loved it. The story in some ways reminded me of Chik Chak Shabbat, a book I reviewed years ago. It is a story that is contained in one apartment building where each floor houses someone of a different cultural background. In this story, Lili is at her Nai Nai's house making boas, a personal favorite. They take us step by step until step #7 where Nai Nai realizes that they are out of the cabbage needed to steam them. She sends Lili up to the 6th floor to see if Babcia has some. Babcia gives her the cabbage and then sends her to Granma on the 2nd floor for potatoes. The story continues until she has gone up and down the stairs multiple times (elevator is broken) and run errands for everyone as they are making special foods. Later, they all come together in the garden to share a delicious meal. I adore books like this. Books that allow us to preserve our own cultures and share in everyone else's. I also love books about food. There is also a recipe for bao in the back that I might have to try with a vegetarian version.

We love to share the diversity of our school and this book will be a great addition to our library collection. A delightful story that shares the foods of many cultures and shows appreciation for all that makes them different, and the same. A lovely book to celebrate diversity!

It's going to be a special day. Nai Nai has invited Lili to help her make baos. This granddaughter not only loves to eat these steamed bundles of goodness, she loves to make them.
With charming watercolor illustrations, Lili describes each step. She begins by making the dough, then creating the filling, and finally tucking the filling inside each little pastry pillow. She refers to helpful cooking tips "secrets."
When Nai Nai is missing cabbage leaves to line the bamboo basket and keep the bao from sticking, Lili ventures up to Babcia's apartment on the 5th floor for cabbage. She discovers that Babcia has cabbage to share but needs a potato for the pierogi she is making. This pattern continues. Lili traipses up and down the stairs, locating a missing ingredient for the resident grandmothers as each cooks her own version of savory filled pastries: ravioli, tamales, beef patties, fatayer, pierogis and of course, baos.
A top floor view, looking down, reveals on all the flights of stairs Lili and her adorable dog must traverse. Note: a posted sign indicates that the elevator is out of service.
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The multicultural culinary adventure concludes with neighbors sharing of each woman’s delicious specialty. A sweet surprises awaits Lili and readers on the final page.
Details from each apartment showcase the diversity of this community. In addition to learning various names for grandmother, readers are introduced to common phrases and greetings in a variety of languages.
An infographic offers a concise map of Lili’s journey throughout the apartment complex. The location for each type of dumpling is identified. Bonus: ​A bao recipe is included.
Melissa Iwai's Dumplings for Lili is delicious introduction to a variety of tastes and cultures.