Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats * Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, The Children's Museum Boston, Meilo So (Illustrator)

A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes. This beautifully illustrated children's treasury gathers traditional folktales, family recipes, and hands-on craft activities to celebrate the ancient rhythms, stories, and delicious foods of China’s four most important annual festivals.

The Story: Written by prominent Asian culinary authority Nina Simonds and education expert Leslie Swartz in collaboration with The Children's Museum Boston, this heartwarming anthology brings cultural history alive for young readers. The authors create a lively, highly engaging cultural playground that connects five senses to history, documenting the deep meanings behind generational traditions through stories and activities that families can share together.

The book takes young readers and parents on a vibrant journey through a full calendar year of festivities, sorting the treasury into four clear chapters: the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The text introduces the colorful mythical origins behind each event - such as the legend of the fierce monster Nian who feared the color red, or the brave archer Hou Yi and his wife Chang Er who flew to the moon. Acclaimed artist Meilo So fills the pages with beautiful, energetic watercolor brushwork that captures the joy, family warmth, and bustling motion of the holiday crowds.

As an active guide for family bonding and cultural discovery. Each story section wraps into practical, kid-friendly craft steps and delicious recipes, teaching families how to fold decorative paper lanterns, mix together sweet mooncakes, roll savory dumplings, and arrange lucky New Year narcissus bulbs. This award-winning hardcover classic stands as an essential addition to any home or school library shelf, preserving a profound legacy of Asian heritage and joyful storytelling.

Perfect For: Parents, elementary school teachers, and librarians looking for an uncomplicated, highly engaging resource book to teach multicultural traditions and Asian American heritage; families looking for a high-quality arts, crafts, and cooking companion for holiday planning; and collectors of beautifully illustrated children's folktale and mythology anthologies.

Parents' Choice Award, Chapman Award for Best Classroom Read-Alouds, ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award, Storytelling World Resource Award

Published 2002 by Gulliver Books, Harcourt.

Children's Books / Chinese Cultural Heritage / Holiday Tales & Folktales / Children's Arts, Crafts & Cooking / Asian American Studies / Illustrated Anthologies