I requested and received this book from Larissa Fan and Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a sweet book. I loved the reveal and the different perspective for the last part of the book. I loved that the author included beliefs from Taiwan in this story loosely based on her father and his siblings.

A cute and interesting take on a mix of traditional folktale and family inspiration. This little book is a subtle challenge to cultural attitudes about gender. I appreciated the author’s note at the end.

Ten Little Dumplings by Larissa Fan is a wonderful and uplifting story based on the true account of a Taiwanese family who were blessed with ten sons, their very own good luck dumplings. Imagine being the lone daughter in such a family, forever in the collective shadow of ten brothers who were so unique that the villagers wrote songs about them. Such is the case for our narrator, who continues to watch, learn, and grow alongside her brothers to become a fully realized and successful person in her own right.

This beautifully illustrated story is truly inspiring, and a reminder that whatever our circumstances, our individual light can never be diminished. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.