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Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts
A fun book for parents and children to enjoy and treasure. The fairy tales and folklore of Chinalike stories told throughout the ages everywherebring the fantastic world of ghosts and demons into our everyday lives. So it is not surprising that food makes an appearance hereeach story is followed by a simple recipe.
164 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 17, 2016
I can't begin to tell you how much I wish this book were around when my Kiddo was growing up. It would have been right up her alley. It consists of a collection of both traditional and contemporary Chinese fairy tales paired with a recipe representative of the tale's theme. So far, my favorites stories are "Banquet of Waste" with a recipe for Congee (rice porridge) and "Stretch and Fold, Stretch and Fold" with a recipe for Dan-Dan Mian (noodles with Peanut Sauce, and "The Ungrateful Wolf" with a recipe for beef lettuce wraps. There are 13 tales and 13 recipes and we are slowly working our way through the whole book. This is a great book for kids and their parents to read and then try the recipes together.
January 23, 2017
A mixture of (heavily?) adapted traditional food-related Chinese fairy tales, and new ones original to the author. Each tale is accompanied by a recipe, and a brief lesson in the cultural meaning of the food.
Maybe I'm a purist, but most of them didn't *feel* right, not like real folk or fairy-tales. I can't imagine great-great-grandma in the village telling these to her little dumplings. As an example, one of the author-invented tales is a Cinderella variant which ends (ends!) with Cinderella going off to seek her fortune. Closure is not just a seven-letter word: it defines the genre.
Didn't like the amateurish illustrations, either. The recipe section mostly seemed OK, but I skipped over the majority and didn't attempt any of the dishes.
I read one or two to the kids but they weren't particularly interested.
Maybe I'm a purist, but most of them didn't *feel* right, not like real folk or fairy-tales. I can't imagine great-great-grandma in the village telling these to her little dumplings. As an example, one of the author-invented tales is a Cinderella variant which ends (ends!) with Cinderella going off to seek her fortune. Closure is not just a seven-letter word: it defines the genre.
Didn't like the amateurish illustrations, either. The recipe section mostly seemed OK, but I skipped over the majority and didn't attempt any of the dishes.
I read one or two to the kids but they weren't particularly interested.
May 10, 2021
Hm. Not positive the stories are authentically traditional, esp. given the caveat in the intro. by Jane Yolen that 'story tellers adapt tales to their audiences & times...' Recipes are wholesome and interesting, but not particularly accessible to young Western families. Also lots of interesting information, but I'm just not sure of the value of those tidbits, either.
Illustrator is the only true #OwnVoices, as best I can tell. And art is fine, but not particularly special imo. I'm glad my library has this and that I had a chance to look through it, but otoh I don't feel as if I can quite recommend it to any of you.
Illustrator is the only true #OwnVoices, as best I can tell. And art is fine, but not particularly special imo. I'm glad my library has this and that I had a chance to look through it, but otoh I don't feel as if I can quite recommend it to any of you.
May 10, 2018
A Caveat: this review will not consider the quality or outcome of the recipes within, because quite frankly I've haven't used any recipes within. However, this review would take into account how well and comprehensive the recipes are written and the like.
Chinese Fair Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook is a combination anthology and cookbook written by Paul Yee, illustrated by Shaoli Wang, and recipes collected by Judy Chan. Included in this book is a Baker's Dozen retellings of Asian myths and folklore and accompanied by a recipe that the story inspired. Not only are retellings and recipes are in the book, but facts about China, traditional foods and ingredients, their customs, translated Chinese proverbs and their meanings, and other tidbits and trivet of China and East Asian culture.
Yee's retellings of thirteen Chinese fables both traditional and contemporary are excellently done and to my knowledge rather faithful to the original text (at least the traditional ones). He had chosen a diverse set of stories and introduced the novice to varied stories from Chinese culture. Wang's illustrations are rather well done, whiter illustrating the fables or the recipes – it is rather well done and compliments the text rather well.
Chan's recipes are written well and very easy to understand. Although, I think some of these recipes are not as child friendly as it should be – considering the target audience for this book. There are no pictures of the end product, but occasionally there will be an illustration depicting the end result, which is preferable to no picture at all. However, these recipes don't tell how much it yields and there are no nutritional facts per serving, which is typically available in most modern recipes.
All in all, Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook is a wonderful anthology of Chinese folklore and cookbook and illustrated well.
Chinese Fair Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook is a combination anthology and cookbook written by Paul Yee, illustrated by Shaoli Wang, and recipes collected by Judy Chan. Included in this book is a Baker's Dozen retellings of Asian myths and folklore and accompanied by a recipe that the story inspired. Not only are retellings and recipes are in the book, but facts about China, traditional foods and ingredients, their customs, translated Chinese proverbs and their meanings, and other tidbits and trivet of China and East Asian culture.
Yee's retellings of thirteen Chinese fables both traditional and contemporary are excellently done and to my knowledge rather faithful to the original text (at least the traditional ones). He had chosen a diverse set of stories and introduced the novice to varied stories from Chinese culture. Wang's illustrations are rather well done, whiter illustrating the fables or the recipes – it is rather well done and compliments the text rather well.
Chan's recipes are written well and very easy to understand. Although, I think some of these recipes are not as child friendly as it should be – considering the target audience for this book. There are no pictures of the end product, but occasionally there will be an illustration depicting the end result, which is preferable to no picture at all. However, these recipes don't tell how much it yields and there are no nutritional facts per serving, which is typically available in most modern recipes.
All in all, Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook is a wonderful anthology of Chinese folklore and cookbook and illustrated well.
June 29, 2021
Literary Cookbooks are always so fun! I love reading and cooking (and eating!), so how could it get any better?! Like most East Asian folktales, the stories in this book have great moral lessons and would make great read-aloud stories for your children. I was initially worried about whether the intended audience would be able to make Chinese dishes, but it looks like the included recipes are rather straight forward. I thoroughly enjoyed this! I will say, however, that the stories in this edition are much longer than the original "Fairy Tale Feasts" book.
February 9, 2026
What a delightful book!
My book club theme for February was fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. After reading a Grimm collection, I looked for Chinese fairy tales and found this book at the library.
The stories included historical and cultural background as well as easy to follow recipes. The colorful illustrations added to the excellent volume.
I may be buying this in the future for my grandchildren.
My book club theme for February was fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. After reading a Grimm collection, I looked for Chinese fairy tales and found this book at the library.
The stories included historical and cultural background as well as easy to follow recipes. The colorful illustrations added to the excellent volume.
I may be buying this in the future for my grandchildren.
March 20, 2020
I read this out loud to the children. I really liked hearing these stories that were new to me. I liked that at the end of each story was a section that talked about how that story fit in with other story patterns from around the world and also gave more information about things mentioned in the story. I also liked the recipes that were included to match each story.
August 7, 2019
The five stars is for the illustrations. The receipts are a big no-no. Please don't cut yam into pieces and roasted with cinnamon; don't add soy sauce into congee.
November 27, 2023
My 7yo loves this book, and I've made and enjoyed a few of the recipes.
September 12, 2025
Stories used:
A Wondrous Pear Tree
The Schoolmaster's Autumn Festival
A Wondrous Pear Tree
The Schoolmaster's Autumn Festival
August 8, 2015
A very cute book. Chinese fairytales, with illustrations and recipes after each story. This is the third in a series. It's a cute concept and would make a nice gift.
December 22, 2015
storytelling resource
Looks like a good resource for food-related stories, like for the annual storytelling benefit. One looks interesting, called the "Feast of Waste."
Looks like a good resource for food-related stories, like for the annual storytelling benefit. One looks interesting, called the "Feast of Waste."
January 22, 2016
Lovely compilation of Chinese tales perfect for storytelling. The cultural notes and recipes are a wonderful enrichment to the stories.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews