As night falls, one hungry ghost is looking for his dinner. Yum! He spots a plump, delicious-looking boy just right for boy dumplings. Even better, the boy knows the perfect recipe. He sends the ghost all over China for stinky garlic, wormy cabbage, and moldy dumpling wrappers. There’s always one more ingredient the boy tells the ghost to find, but the hungry ghost knows the boy dumplings will be worth it. But when dawn arrives, will this crafty youngster escape — or will the plan he’s cooked up lead him to the cooking pot?
- ISBN: 9780823419555
- Author: Compestine, Ying Chang
- Illustrator: Yamasaki, James
- Published: 2009, Holiday House
- Themes: food, Ghost, recipes, trickery
- Descriptors: Asia, China, Folklore and Fairy Tales, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)
- No. of pages: 32
A play on the old “stone soup” story, a hungry ghost gets directions from a young boy about how to turn him into dumplings. In the author’s note, Compestine explains the Chinese holiday called the Ghosts Festival, which sounds similar to the Dias de los Muertos festival in Mexico. I think children will enjoy seeing how the boy tricks the ghost in the end. This book could be used in a set of trickster tales from different countries.