Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods

SKU: 9780316486002
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Author: Lin, Grace 

Publisher: Little Brown

Format: Hardcover

Condition: New

ISBN: 9780316486002


Pub Date: September 12, 2023

Target Age Group: 09 to 12:  288 pages

CHINESE MENU: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite American Chinese Foods by award-winning children’s book author Grace Lin (Little Brown, September 2023) - It's an anthology of about 40 stories that tell the stories behind American Chinese food.
 
Have you ever been curious about the names of the dishes you ordered there? For example, General Tso’s Chicken—have you wondered who General Tso was? Or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall—why would Buddha do something like that?
 
Well, I can tell you! Because those names are all clues to the tales behind the food. Almost all dishes on a Chinese menu have a story behind them. In a way, the menu at your Chinese restaurant is the table of contents for a feast of stories.
 
And this book is that feast.
 
Because this book is going to tell you the stories that make up your favorite Chinese dishes. From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite foods.
 
Now, I know you want to ask, “Are these stories real?”
 
Yes. These stories are real. They are real legends, real myths, and real histories. I did not make any of them up from my own imagination. They have all been researched (you can check the bibliography!) and there are a few stories that are not only real folklore but factually true, too!
 
That said, even though I did not fabricate any of these stories, I did, however, embellish some of them. Many of these stories are my own adapted retellings, combining various versions of leg- ends together with imagined details and dialogue. But even when I did so, I tried hard to stay true to the spirit of the original tales and keep as many details as possible. For example, important female characters in the legends were sometimes nameless, so I gave these women names, researching ones that would be appropriate for that time and place. But when the stories did name characters, I kept true to the tale—if the characters had no last name in the legend (such as Kun in the chopstick story), I left them with a single name. And, speaking of names, in Chinese tradition, the last name is said first and written before the given name. So, General Ding Baozhen—a real historical person— has the last name of Ding. The general’s first name is Baozhen. You can read Baozhen’s story while learning about Kung Pao Chicken!
 
And while you read these stories, I hope you also begin to see that this book is actually not about Chinese food. Just like hot dogs were invented in Germany (hot dogs are also called frankurters because they came from Frankfurt, Germany) and apple pie has Dutch origins (there are Dutch apple pie recipes dating as far back as 1514); egg rolls, Sweet and Sour Pork, and General Tso’s Chicken are just as American.
 
In fact, what we in America consider Chinese food is really just a small sliver of Chinese cuisine. China is a huge country with more than one billion people. And every area has its own specialty—from the dim sum and seafood of coastal Guangdong to the lamb and dairy dishes of the grassland tribes of Inner Mongolia. There’s a wide, wide range of Chinese food and we’ve only gotten a tiny taste.
 
We are also less familiar with its stories. So, pull up a chair, have a seat, and get ready to eat! I hope you’re hungry, because here comes your story feast! While the tales you are about to read might be magical, funny, exciting, or a bit unusual, I know I can say with relish that they are all delightfully satisfying.
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BIO: Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” and the Theodor Geisel Honor for “Ling and Ting.” Her novel “When the Sea Turned to Silver” was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the NY Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as hosting the two podcasts: kidlitwomen* and Kids Ask Authors. Grace is In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House where Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. In 2022, Grace was awarded the Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association.