Gorgeous book with beautiful illustrations. Telling the story of Lili as she makes dumplings with her grandmother, we also meet a raft of other characters from different backgrounds who each contribute to a diverse take on something similar, each culturally specific and done in a way that is educational and enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was such a heartwarming story! The illustrations are gorgeous and made me hungry. Lili has learned all the secrets to making baos from her beloved Nai Nai. They are almost finished making baos when Nai Nai realizes that they are missing an ingredient. This sets Lili off on a trek up and down the stairs to the apartments of all the building’s other grandmas as she helps them get the ingredients that each of them needs to finish their favorite kind of dumplings. I loved the celebration of community and multiculturalism in this story. This is definitely one to add to our classroom library!

A really sweet story that will make you hungry! Lili is at her grandmother's apartment, helping her make dumplings, or bao. The way the steps for making the bao are explained is adorable, such as letting the dough take a catnap somewhere warm while making the filling. When the bao are all ready, Nai Nai realizes they have no cabbage leaves to line the steamer basket with, and she sends Lili to a neighbor's apartment on another floor to ask for some cabbage. The elevator is out of order, so Lili takes the stairs. She's able to get the cabbage, but the neighbor needs potatoes for her dumplings, and asks Lili to check with another neighbor. This scenario repeats through five different neighbors from different cultures making five different kinds of dumplings, until finally, poor tired Lili, who's been running up and down the stairs all this time, can get back to her Nai Nai to finish their dumplings. At the end, everyone meets outside to have a dumpling party, and we learn why Lili was at her grandmother's- she has a new baby brother! The story teaches children about foods from different cultures that are similar but unique, and how food is a way for all cultures to come together and celebrate. Following the story, we get Nai Nai recipe for pork bao, which I can't wait to try! The art is colorful and bright, with lots of detail- I especially enjoyed the endpapers, which show the different dumplings in the story. A fun, inclusive book, sure to be enjoyed!

#DumplingsforLili #NetGalley

This was a cute story about something so important in Asian cultures - food! My children loved seeing characters that looked like them, as well as the food we eat. The illustrations were lovely and the story kept them interested. It is a great story about food adventures and many different cultures' takes on dumplings. A great lesson about the things we share.

Just absolutely adorable - a book I would be proud to share with any of the children in my life! Accompanied by the sweetest trations, the story is just lovely; I loved the message of community - the intergenerational relationships between Lili and all the grandmothers in the block of flats, and the inter-racial relationships between all the ladies sharing their ingredients. The links made between dumpling-type foods from all different cultures were so cool too!

It's going to be a special day. Nai Nai has invited Lili to help her make baos. This granddaughter not only loves to eat these steamed bundles of goodness, she loves to make them.
With charming watercolor illustrations, Lili describes each step. She begins by making the dough, then creating the filling, and finally tucking the filling inside each little pastry pillow. She refers to helpful cooking tips "secrets."
When Nai Nai is missing cabbage leaves to line the bamboo basket and keep the bao from sticking, Lili ventures up to Babcia's apartment on the 5th floor for cabbage. She discovers that Babcia has cabbage to share but needs a potato for the pierogi she is making. This pattern continues. Lili traipses up and down the stairs, locating a missing ingredient for the resident grandmothers as each cooks her own version of savory filled pastries: ravioli, tamales, beef patties, fatayer, pierogis and of course, baos.
A top floor view, looking down, reveals on all the flights of stairs Lili and her adorable dog must traverse. Note: a posted sign indicates that the elevator is out of service.
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The multicultural culinary adventure concludes with neighbors sharing of each woman’s delicious specialty. A sweet surprises awaits Lili and readers on the final page.
Details from each apartment showcase the diversity of this community. In addition to learning various names for grandmother, readers are introduced to common phrases and greetings in a variety of languages.
An infographic offers a concise map of Lili’s journey throughout the apartment complex. The location for each type of dumpling is identified. Bonus: ​A bao recipe is included.
Melissa Iwai's Dumplings for Lili is delicious introduction to a variety of tastes and cultures.

We love to share the diversity of our school and this book will be a great addition to our library collection. A delightful story that shares the foods of many cultures and shows appreciation for all that makes them different, and the same. A lovely book to celebrate diversity!

An adorable book featuring Lili, staying with her grandmother, who ends up running between the different floors of the apartment building, where we meet grandmothers from many cultures, all making different dumplings. Sweet, multicultural, and a fantastic read for all. Even includes the bao recipe, though it would have been great to have all recipes included.

This was my first NetGalley experience and I'm so glad it was. The book is warm, inclusive, visually stunning. I love that it celebrates the diversity of urban settings. That it is set in a block of flats is brilliant - I am always looking for kid's books that show diverse living situations (not everyone lives in a standalone house with a fence!). I loved the connection between global dumplings and the grandmothers who make them. Growing up I rarely saw Teta mentioned in any English language books so that really moved me. The intergenerational relationships in general are beautiful. The clever links between the ingredients for dumplings and the diverse nationalities - same but different. It really is a brilliant children's book that I would be proud to share. Thank you! And thank you to the author and illustrators for creating Dumplings for Lili.

When I finished Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai (June 1, 2021), my first thought was simply that I absolutely loved it. The story in some ways reminded me of Chik Chak Shabbat, a book I reviewed years ago. It is a story that is contained in one apartment building where each floor houses someone of a different cultural background. In this story, Lili is at her Nai Nai's house making boas, a personal favorite. They take us step by step until step #7 where Nai Nai realizes that they are out of the cabbage needed to steam them. She sends Lili up to the 6th floor to see if Babcia has some. Babcia gives her the cabbage and then sends her to Granma on the 2nd floor for potatoes. The story continues until she has gone up and down the stairs multiple times (elevator is broken) and run errands for everyone as they are making special foods. Later, they all come together in the garden to share a delicious meal. I adore books like this. Books that allow us to preserve our own cultures and share in everyone else's. I also love books about food. There is also a recipe for bao in the back that I might have to try with a vegetarian version.

This was such a heartwarming story! The illustrations are gorgeous and made me hungry. I loved the celebration of community and multiculturalism.

This is a gem! Lili has learned all the secrets to making baos from her beloved Nai Nai. They are almost finished making baos when Nai Nai realizes that they are missing an ingredient. This sets Lili off on a trek up and down the stairs to the apartments of all the building’s other grandmas as she helps them get the ingredients that each of them needs to finish their favorite kind of dumplings. This is such a sweet story with the different cultural traditions naturally woven in through Lili’s interactions with all the building’s grandmas. The recipe for baos in the back of the book is a bonus!

What a beautiful celebration of multiculturalism and community through the simple dumpling. Lili is staying with her Nai Nai (grandmother) and is very excited because she gets to make Bao Buns! But one of the secrets to Nai Nai's perfect Baos is lining the steamer with cabbage, and she is out of cabbage. Lili must run to the other grandmothers in the building to borrow some Cabbage for their meal, helping each with their own dumpling creations along the way.

I adored the beauty of the illustrations in this text and the simple noting of each grandma's name in their native language to let the reader know their cultural identities. The cultures represented include polish, latina, BIPOC, Italian, Lebanese and Chinese. 

There's also a full recipe included at the end of the books so you can make Nai Nai's special Bao Buns yourself.

I can see this text easily being used in lower primary classrooms to stimulate conversation about community and support the wide range of cultures present amongst the students themselves. Civics and Citizenship units would benefit from the addition of this text.

I recommend this book to children aged 4-7.

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai is a lovely picture book!

Lili is over the moon when Nai Nai asks her to make baos. There are secrets to making baos though, so pay attention when reading this book! The secrets in this book make me smile, and also show me the incredible journey of making a bao (which I had previously seen in the Disney-Pixar short Bao, but who doesn't want to learn more?!).

This is a must read on my list! It's a fun tale about family and cooking. Who doesn't want a story about bringing people together?! And learning different foods from different cultures is probably the best bonus this book can offer. Learning is fun folks!

The illustrations are also fabulous! I enjoy so many different styles in picture books these days. I love how different everything has gotten. No one seems to follow one distinct look anymore - it's great!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, W. W. Norton & Company and Norton Young Readers for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

What a fun picture book about cooking and sharing amongst neighbors. A young child is making baos with Nai Nai. When they are missing an ingredient the child is sent throughout the building, meeting all the grandmother. We learn about different food from different cultures. The illustrations are beautiful and the back of the book has a recipe for baos. Pair this with Thank You Omu by Oge Mora for storytime.

Thank you to NetGalley for free access to an ARC of Dumplings for Lili by author/illustrator Melissa Iwai. The book introduces different characters in their kitchens as Lili treks the several floors of her building, visiting the kitchens of different grandmothers who all need just one more ingredient to make their dish. The illustrations featuring the kitchens and outfits of the different grandmothers are cheerful and convey the neighborly feel of the entire book. The ending is quite satisfying and readers are treated to a recipe as well! A lovely book to share with young or future foodies.

A really lovely story, with a multinational theme and a delicious looking recipe for readers to try at the end!

Lili and her Nai Nai (Mandarin for grandmother) wanted to make some baos, but they needed one more ingredient before they could steam their baos. Thus begin Lili's journey all up and down her apartment building finding ingredients to help the grandmothers in the building make different kinds of dumplings (LOVE the nods to different cultures here, with the different languages and types of dumplings like fatayeh and ravioli!)

I could definitely see how this book could be such a great vehicle for young kids to learn about different cultures through food, and how we live in a rich multicultural society. Perhaps we could even make some baos after that! :)

I received the ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a super cute picture book that I think will appeal to a lot of children and parents.

As a lover of bao and dumplings, I really enjoyed Lili's passion for wanting to help her grandma and her neighbor. This was such a comedic "go get me this" and "go get me that" story, but I really enjoyed the light-heartedness and humor in it.

The art was also very interesting and I think it will do well as a picture book. I wish I could have been read this when I was young.

This story is so cute. I think it will work well as a readaloud and afterwards it can be used to spark great discussions with kids about culture. Very nice!