Dim Sum Palace, illustrated and written by X. Fang, published by Tundra, ISBN: 978-1774881989.
In the zesty final line of X. Fang’s wacky and surreal new Dim Sum Palace, the young protagonist Liddy enjoys Chinese restaurant food that tastes better than in her “wildest dreams.” And the line has a comical punch because we have watched Liddy experience one wild dream. One involving being turned into a dumpling fit for an Empress. Yes, that old dream. Fang’s book fittingly has a fantastical logic to it, with images that defy explanation but still oddly feel grounded in some kind of strange reality. At the story’s start, Liddy cannot wait for tomorrow’s visit to a restaurant with the titular name. The economical tale kicks in right away at bedtime when Liddy’s mom calls the child her “little dumpling.” We don’t quite see Liddy fall asleep as she follows a delicious scent lead her out of her room, down the street, and into a kitchen where giant chefs work diligently on a meal. And yet, we know that this must all be a dream. Unusual twists follow and soon Liddy finds herself wrapped up as if she were a tasty dumpling. There’s a beautiful transitional moment that brings Liddy back to her bedroom, sleeping cozily. The central section with the cooks feels like an homage to Maurice Sendak’s bizarre classic In the Night Kitchen, but Fang does something new and different here. Dim Sum Palace beats to the sound of its own drummer. Satisfying and witty.
Ploof, words and pictures by Ben Clanton & Andy Chou Musser, published by Tundra, ISBN: 978-1774881927.
I did this interactive book recently in my preschool storytimes, and wow, did the kids love playing along. Think of books like Tap the Magic Tree and Herve Tullet’s many titles (such as Press Here), which invites young readers to shout things or make movements or touch the illustrations to help keep the action going. Ploof involves making the title character, an instantly lovable cloud, do a whole bunch of stuff. And Ploof needs the audience’s help. Friendly hellos, waves, games of hide and seek, high fives, and rounds of encouraging applause. And children, well, they become thoroughly invested in assisting this sometimes shy, sometimes accident-proof but quietly extraordinary cloud. Clanton and Musser serve up some funny twists, and bring things to a happy close. Their biggest achievement is, well, look at how absolutely adorable Ploof is. Warm and friendly. Kids cannot help but be on Ploof’s side.
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