Dumpling Soup

Winner of the first New Voices, New World Multicultural Fiction Contest in 1990, this story of a Hawaiian girl's New Year's Eve is as warm and comforting as homemade soup. Marisa narrates this slice of Korean-Chinese-Japanese-Hawaiian-Anglo life, describing her close-knit family's New Year's Eve traditions. She describes the food, the games, the fireworks and the evening's climax, a midnight feast of dumpling soup in which float Marisa's lumpy but lovingly praised first attempts at making dumplings. With her savory prose, Rattigan cooks up a world replete with love and respect for one's family and heritage. Nuggets of pithy dialogue convey the essence of family members: `` `Too much gossip!' says Grandma in Korean. `Mince that cabbage! More bean sprouts!' '' Hsu-Flanders's watercolors are stuffed with delicate details and are as appetizing as Marisa's ingenuous tone--and her dumplings. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)