REVIEWS for Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子)

BOOK REVIEWS

Reviewed by Bruce Arrington for Readers’ Favorite and Barnes & Noble, author of the Josh Avril series and the Fallen Powers series

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) by Eugenia Chu is an illustrated children’s story that mixes American and Chinese cultures, bringing not only traditions together, but also the two languages. Brandon’s parents live in the United States, but the boy’s grandmother lives in China, and she comes for a visit. What follows is a series of high energy experiences focused on Brandon’s favorite Chinese food and his grandmother. The book includes a preface describing how to pronounce Chinese syllables and a glossary of Chinese words and numbers.

The book is filled with humor, fun, and simple child-like drawings. You can feel Brandon’s energy as he prepares (or so attempts) his favorite dish with his grandmother, but more importantly bonding with a family member who has come from far away. I appreciate how this story is based in the reality of the author, Eugenia Chu, and how her life experience is shared in this book. Family is paramount, and something as simple as preparing food together can make positive memories that could last the lifetime of Brandon. Sharing these experiences allows the reader to appreciate the values of this happy family.

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi not only helps two cultures to harmonize through family, but it also can be helpful for family members who are separated over long distances. This story can help children appreciate family, and guide them in creating positive memories themselves. I am so glad I was able to review this outstanding story and I heartily recommend it to families with young children the world over.

Reviewed by Carole Roman for Goodreads and Amazon, award-winning author of over fifty children’s books including the Captain No Beard series, If You Were Me and Lived in – series, and the Oh Susannah series, among others

Adorable story about Brandon and his experience making dumplings with his grandmother. This is such a cute book on so many levels. Sprinkled throughout are Chinese sentences that are written phonetically so that the reader can sound out the Chinese words. Brandon makes the dumplings with his grandmother, spilling a mountain of flour on the floor and himself, and then acts like a ghost. He eats all the dumplings up, and the family enjoys watching his antics. It’s nice to read a book where the idea of family is embraced and revered. Neatly told, charmingly illustrated, somehow I think this is an important book to the Chu family, and it feels like it based on a memorable family experience.

Reviewed by Serendipity Marieon for Amazon, Goodreads and LibraryThings

I am a huge fan of bilingual children’s books. I love them for languages that I work with my child to learn or for other languages, just for exposure. A common pitfall for these books is that they fall into two unhelpful categories: flashcard style books with showing vocabulary with pictures or simply showing both the story separately in both languages, with no way to intermingle them unless you repeat the story in the other language. If you’ve ever sought out bilingual English-Chinese children’s books, they usually have the added issue of only having either the characters or the pinyin (and sometimes worse: a third pronunciation form).

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) is one of those rare exceptions that incorporates both pinyin, characters (traditional), and a delightful story. The best part is that the pinyin/character elements are woven into the story, so you aren’t just either reading in Chinese or English but all together, like you would if both languages are used in the house. This was such a pleasant surprise that I bought a second copy of the book, so I could keep the first to read with my daughter and still give away the second to a little free library.

The story itself covers familial relations with a loving grandmother and her grandson, the passing of culinary traditions, and also how to be resilient in the face of mistakes. The illustrations are simple, but compliment the story well. The publishing style leaves a lot of blank space on the page, but it’s not particularly distracting. Looking forward to more books like this from the author.

Reviewed by Sierra Luke for Goodreads, Author of the E.C. Max, Kid Genius series, Oh No! series and the Andy Airplane series

Brandon Makes Jiao Zi is a delightful tale of a young boy making a special treat with his grandmother. The story is narrated in a very refreshing way which makes it seem like an afternoon that any child could have at home. The hand-drawn illustrations are innocent and sincerely reflect the style of a child at play.
My children enjoyed trying to pronounce the Chinese words included but would love the audio to make sure they were saying them correctly. It could only be better if the text was space out more so that the characters, Pingyin and the English do not appear jumbled together especially during the conversations.
A great way to introduce young children to the Chinese language and culture.

Reviewed by Pam Mooney for Goodreads

I loved this book! I have girls who cook with their grandmother and this book is so relatable. I love that the Chinese words were included to make it authentic. You feel the family joy as you read – and of course my girls laughed at Brandon’s antics. I could tell they were engaged as their eyes widened and they pointed at each other relating to their own experiences. Delightful! Any child would feel fortunate to receive this book. A good read.

Reviewed by Lisa for Goodreads

Amazing!!!

This brings in all the parts I am interested in: Culture, History, Family, and Food. We are the members of our family who gather together the family stories, history (family and otherwise), recipes and love learning about our cultures as well as others. I would love to have gotten this book even if I did not have grandbabies to share this wonderful tale with. As I opened it, my daughter saw it while I quickly flipped through it in the car. She immediately said she wanted to read it. I had to put my foot down and insist on reading it first. It has become one that will be in my library for good. Nanny (grandma) now has another wonderful book to share with the grandbabies and someday great grandbabies.

I received this as a goodreads giveaway. I am very thankful for it.

Reviewed by M.K. Tran for Amazon

I bought this book for my son who’s taking Mandarin and he really enjoyed it. It’s a very sweet story that portrays an endearing relationship between a boy and his grandmother. They laugh and spend time together while making dumplings. I appreciate the innocence of the story and was happy to have found a book with some Mandarin for my son that he can relate to.

Reviewed by Lisa for goread.com

I love, love, love this book! I have grandbabies to read it to but would have loved it anyway. The culture, food, and most importantly, family connections make this a MUST READ!! This has been put in my personal library and will be well loved by grandbabies and great grandbabies to come.

Reviewed by Maritza Mejia for Goodreads

This enjoyable story includes some conversational in Mandarin Chinese and a preface that explains Pinyin pronunciation. It is written in a way you can interconnect the relation between a Chinese grandmother and her Chinese-American grandson.

The story begins when Brandon’s mother surprises him after school with his grandma, Pó Po, from China. When they get home, the action begins when they decided to make Chinese dumplings, called jiǎo zi. Brandon enjoys the adventure while making a big mess in the kitchen and having a good time with Pó Po.
While making the Chinese dumplings, the author Eugenia Chu, introduces words in Mandarin and the meaning. It’s a conversation easy to follow that engage the characters in a bond over the experience in the kitchen.

Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi has a great lesson for grandmothers and encourages family traditions.

Congratulations Eugenia Chu!

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