Chinese Menu

Grace Lin, a Newbery Honor and Caldecott Honor recipient, turns her attention to American Chinese food in this full-color illustrated book. It collects the legends, folklore and real history behind familiar restaurant dishes, from fried dumplings to fortune cookies, and gives each one a story.

The tales are grouped into courses, the way a Chinese restaurant menu is laid out. Readers learn how scallion pancakes are linked to pizza, how dumplings healed a village's frostbitten ears, and how wonton soup connects to the creation of the world. Along the way there are quarreling dragons, enchanted fruit and hungry monks, and the stories travel to faraway times and places.

The book also looks at the resilience and triumph behind these dishes and at what makes them American. It is pitched as a gift for anyone who loves good food and a good story.