Brandon Makes Jiao Zi – Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018

As a retired teacher, I am always on the lookout for books that will bring something beneficial to the classroom. Eugenia Chu’s wrote this wonderful book for her son when she could not find children’s books utilizing the Chinese language. I, for one, am so glad she created this little gem!

It begins when Brandon is surprised by a visit from his grandmother from China who invites him to make a wonderful treat, Jiao Zi, a type of dumpling. That is not all he learns that afternoon. He learns how to count to ten in Chinese, how to say thank you, and the repercussions of cause and effect as he eats most of the Jiao Zi himself.

The artwork is child-friendly and endearing as we see Brandon’s family come together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for use within the classroom to accompany a unit on China. A wonderful addition to Multicultural Children’s Book Day! I am looking forward to a series!

Eugenia Chu is an attorney, turned stay-at-home mom, turned writer.  She is a first-generation Chinese-American citizen and lives in Miami Beach with her husband and son, Brandon, who is the inspiration for her stories.  When Brandon was very little, the author couldn’t find children’s storybooks to read to him which touched upon Chinese culture and which included some Chinese (Mandarin) words to teach and/or reinforce his Chinese vocabulary, so she started writing her own.  This is the first “Brandon” story.