Kirkus calls X. Fang’s debut picture book DIM SUM PALACE, “a real (delicious) trip.”

A child takes a fantastical journey to the Dim Sum Palace.

Liddy, a round girl with plump cheeks and Asian features, is too excited to fall asleep—tomorrow her family is going to the Dim Sum Palace. “Is it a real palace?” Liddy wonders. When a heavenly aroma wafts through her bedroom door, she follows it to a grand palace, where two giant chefs are making delectable dim sum. Liddy is tiny in comparison, and when she falls into a bowl of dumpling filling, she is scooped up, folded into a bun, and served to the gigantic Empress herself (cued Asian, like the chefs) in a surreal twist of fate. “STOP! Don’t eat me!” The Empress instead invites Liddy to join her in a meal. Finally, Liddy awakens in her own bed, “hungry for more dim sum.” Liddy’s family then visits the real Dim Sum Palace, which isn’t “a palace at all” and has no Empress, but the food is even more satisfying. Saturated teal, blue, and salmon dominate in Fang’s enticing graphite and digital artwork. Human forms are plump, and both the theme and look are reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen (1970). The spread of the real Dim Sum Palace’s bright orange interior featuring tables full of diverse diners is a delightful touch. Endpapers highlight different types of dim sum. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A real (delicious) trip. (Picture book. 4-7)