Review by Booklist Review
The Ugly Duckling gets a makeover in this wacky tale about a misfit. But our hero is not an animal he is a dumpling. An ugly dumpling. (But all dumplings are ugly, you say! Which is a very good point. But this was not just any ugly dumpling.) He spends night after lonely night in the dim sum restaurant, until one day a cockroach comes along and offers to show him the world. The two travel around the restaurant, discovering amazing things among the diverse group of diners including a bowl full of steamed buns that look just like the ugly dumpling! But even though he may have found a place where he belongs, the friendly cockroach is now having problems of his own. The use of anthropomorphic food takes some getting used to, but the ultimate end, about accepting people because of their differences, adds an extra moral to this timeless tale. The bright illustrations are detailed and full of energy never has food been so expressive! and the concept is just odd enough to succeed.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Everyone loves the dumplings at the Golden Swan Chinese Restaurant, but no one wants the ugly dumpling of the title: it doesn't look like anything like the other pot stickers in the bamboo steamer, not even when it tries to wrinkle its brow or wear pleated pants (one of several excellent foodie jokes from debut author Campisi). "Uneaten and ignored," it's befriended by a cockroach, who promises, "I will show you the beauty of the world." Together they traverse mountains of flour and gaze at fortune cookie pyramids, and the ugly dumpling discovers a new gastronomic identity as a steamed bun ("It puffed with importance and yeast"). However, another dilemma arises: cockroaches are anathema to restaurants. From the wordplay of the premise to Kober's (The Flying Hand of Marco B.) crisp pictures and Campisi's easygoing sense of humor, it's a story with plenty of promise. But the global tour has little bearing on the dumpling's epiphany, and the ending, which finds the friends leaving the restaurant to live in a Dumpster, is something of a letdown. Ages 2-8. Author's agent: Stacey Glick, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Illustrator's agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Associates. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A unique take on the classic tale "The Ugly Duckling," this is a humorous story of friendship and self-acceptance, set in a dim sum restaurant. It follows a dumpling who doesn't look at all like the other dumplings in the restaurant. This dumpling (in actuality a steamed bun) is therefore "in a lonely only category. Of one. Uneaten and ignored." The dumpling meets a cockroach who looks past the dumpling's unusual appearance. They go on adventures throughout the restaurant, and the dumpling begins to feel accepted as it notices the beauty around it for the first time. The tables are turned when the diners spot the cockroach and the ugly dumpling comes to its friend's rescue. The minimal text meshes well with the illustrations and at times becomes a part of the action. For example, in a busy kitchen scene, the letters in "hiss" curl like steam from a wok and the letters in "thwak" seem to jump from the cleaver. This narrative moves quickly, and the cheerful visuals do as much to tell the story as the text does. VERDICT An amusing and fun addition for most collections.-Kimberly Tolson, Medfield Public Library, MA c Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
