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

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

$24.99
Sale price  $24.99 Regular price 
Skip to product information
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods

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

By Grace Lin

$24.99
Sale price  $24.99 Regular price 

Members save 15% in the Bookshop.  Sign in or become a member.

Pickup available at The Eric Carle Museum Bookshop

Usually ready in 24 hours

View store information

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

The Eric Carle Museum Bookshop

Pickup available, usually ready in 24 hours

125 West Bay Road
Amherst MA 01002
United States

4135596333

Most orders ship within 2–3 business days.

Free in-store pickup at the Bookshop.

The perfect gift book for anyone who loves good food--and an even better story!



Newbery and Caldecott honoree and New York Times bestselling author Grace Lin delivers a groundbreaking, lushly illustrated, and beautifully written full-color book that explores the whimsical myths and stories behind your favorite American Chinese food.



A
New York Times bestseller!

An ALA Notable Book


A BookPage Best Book of the Year!

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023!



From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite foods.

Do you know the stories behind delectable dishes--like the fun connection between scallion pancakes and pizza? Or how dumplings cured a village's frostbitten ears? Or how wonton soup tells about the creation of the world?

Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales--based in real history and folklore--are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous places, all while making your mouth water. And, along the way, you might just discover a deeper understanding of the resilience and triumph behind this food, and what makes it undeniably American.

Award-winning and bestselling author Grace Lin provides a visual and storytelling feast as she gives insight on the history, legends, and myths behind your favorite American Chinese dishes. Chinese Menu makes the perfect gift book for anyone who loves good food--and an even better story.



Don't miss:

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Starry River of the Sky

When the Sea Turned to Silver

The Year of the Dog

The Year of the Rat

Dumpling Days

ISBN 9780316486002
Pages 288 pages
Publisher Little, Brown
Published Jan 1, 2023
Language en
Cover type Hardcover

Book details

Authors
Grace Lin
ISBN
9780316486002
Publisher
Little, Brown
Binding
Hardcover
Published
Jan 1, 2023
Publication year
2023
Pages
288
Dimensions
10.4 in × 0.9062 in × 8.95 in
Language
en
Categories
HOUSE & HOMEJuvenile NonfictionCooking & FoodCrafts & HobbiesPeople & PlacesUnited StatesAsian American & Pacific IslanderHealth & Daily LivingDaily ActivitiesSocial ScienceFolklore & Mythology
Grace Lin

About the author

Grace Lin

Before Grace Lin was an award-winning and NY Times bestselling author/illustrator of picturebooks, early readers and middle grade novels. She was the only Asian girl (except for her sisters) going to her elementary school in Upstate NY. That experience, good and bad, has influenced her books—including her Newbery Honor Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, her Geisel Honor Ling & Ting, her National Book Finalist When the Sea Turned to Silver and her Caldecott Honor A Big Mooncake for Little Star. But, it also causes Grace to persevere for diversity as an occasional New England Public Radio commentator and when she gave her TEDx talk “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as her PBS New Hour video essay “What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist?.”  In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House and 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. In 2025, Grace received an honorary doctorate degree from her alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design and exhibited a career retrospective of her work “The Art of Grace Lin: Meeting a Friend in an Unexpected Place” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Grace is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with her husband, daughter and a fluctuating amount of chickens. 

More books we love