The Story of Noodles

PreSchool-Grade 3-The Kang family hopes to win the emperor’s annual cooking contest with Mama’s special dumplings, but when a pig turns up missing, the three boys are left in charge of rolling out the dough while their parents hunt for the stray. The brothers jump on the grinder to flatten the dough and-"BOOM!"-the table breaks. When Mama returns, she is horrified to discover strips of dough dangling everywhere. Ever inventive, though, the boys come up with novel ways to consume them-"eating a drumstick" (rolling large portions around chopsticks), "sucking a worm" (slurping individual strands), and "cutting the grass" (biting off short pieces). Their creation turns out to be the hit of the competition. Xuan’s lively, paper-cut illustrations, bordered by heavily textured cream paper, reveal interesting details of Chinese life. Heavy, stylized black outlines give them the appearance of stained glass and make them suitable for group sharing. Although the ending is a bit too good to be true, this tale of the origin of noodles in China will be a welcome addition to multicultural units. A recipe for "Long-Life Noodles" and an author’s note are included. Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA