Who Is Missing?

In Taiwan, having sons is considered good luck. When ten sons are born in the same family, the people of the town take notice and follow these ten brothers through their journey through life. In Ten Little Dumplings Larissa Fan and Cindy Wume draws on stories from her father’s childhood, being one of ten sons, as well as a traditional Taiwanese story called “Ten Brothers” to highlight a different perspective. You see these ten brothers also had one sister. One sister, always in the background, excelling and making her way in the world.

One of the beautiful things about this story is the surprise at the end. You read assuming you know what the story is about but then you are gifted a surprise at the end which in turn causes the reader to begin the story again from a different perspective. I loved watching The Bear read the story and stop, think and go back to the beginning to discover that thing he had been missing. No spoilers so you will have to see for yourself.

The illustrations by Cindy Wume give the story a very Madeline quality to me. The brothers, going everywhere together plus the images of children always around, always playing and learning conjure up those nostalgic feelings. We love how the images are full of hidden moments, sneaky little asides that you need to pause and really look for, making Ten Little Dumplings one that readers will enjoy re-reading again and again.

Ten Little Dumplings is a beautiful Own Voices story. Written and illustrated by two women of Taiwanese descent reminding us to always look for the other perspective. Always look for who is missing in the story and look more closely to find them.

P.S. The name Larissa Fan may sound familiar, she is the sister for the picture book author/illustrators The Fan Brothers! What a creative family!