Dumpling Days
Dumpling Days
Author: Grace Lin
Synopsis:
Pacy and her family travel to Taiwan for one month to celebrate her grandmother’s 60th birthday, giving this Chinese-American girl another lens through which she can examine her identity. When Pacy’s dad calls Taiwan an island of treasure, or bao dao, which sounds similar to the Chinese word for dumplings, she wonders-could Taiwan’s treasure be food? In a companion novel to The Year of the dog and The year of the Rat, gentle Pacy is back, brimming with questions of identity and self-discovery. At home in New York, Pacy is one of the few Asians in her class. She tries hard to fit in. In Taiwan, she looks similar to everyone else, but she doesn’t speak Chinese or Taiwanese. So she doesn’t fit in there either. Pacy’s mom signs her up for a painting class, and Pacy is excited; she’s a good artist; surely she’ll make some friends. But painting with a bamboo brush on rice paper is difficult! The one talent that made her feel safe is suddenly gone; Pacy doesn’t know who she is anymore or where she belongs. Luckily, there is a lot of loving family to surround her, and a lot of incredible food to eat (especially dumplings).
About the author:
Grace Lin grew up in Upstate New York with her parents and two sisters. While the other sisters became scientists, Grace became an artist. Surprisingly enough, being an artist was not Grace’s first choice. She first dreamed of being a champion ice skater, and drew many pictures of herself twirling and dancing on the ice. Unfortunately, grace had neither the talent nor coordination to make it to skating stardom. However, the pictures she drew of herself held much promise and quickly became Grace’s career focus.
After attending the Rhode Island School of Design, Grace quickly set out to achieve her dream of creating children’s books. Richard Scarry’s books strongly influenced Grace’s desire to become an illustrator. As a child she would read his books and trace the illustrations over and over again. Grace lives in Massachusetts. She is a proud member of the Blue Rose Girls.
Dumpling Days
Author: Grace Lin
Discussion questions:
1. Have you ever traveled to a foreign country to visit relatives?
a. If yes, what was it like?
2. What did Pacy’s dad mean when he called Taiwan an island of treasure?
3. Have you ever eaten an unusual food? Tried a food from a different country?
a. What was it?
b. What did it taste like?
4. In the story, Pacy is lost at one of the markets, she has to figure out what to do.
a. Have you ever been lost?
b. Have you ever been in a situation when you didn’t know what to do?
5. In the story, Pacy’s older sister gets portraits taken.
a. What do you think about the sister’s portrait selection?
6. Have you ever been in a class where you looked different or sounded different from the other students?
a. How did you feel?
b. What helped you to fit into the class?
c. How can you help someone who might be different looking or have a different language?
7. At the end of the story, Pacy gets her “chop.”
a. What symbol would you want on your “chop” to represent you?
8. What was so special about the gift that Pacy gave her grandmother for her birthday?
a. Have you ever given an unusual gift or received an unusual gift?
9. Traveling to Taiwan took a very long time.
a. What is the longest you have ever traveled on a trip either by car or by train or by plane?