The Story of Noodles: Amazing Chinese Inventions

By Ying Chang Compestine

Book Overview

Learn how the three fun-loving Kang brothers created noodles, one of China's most famous inventions This colorfully redesigned edition features a new bilingual Chinese translation.

The three playful and creative Kang brothers (Ting, Pan, and K ai) discovered four of China's most famous discoveries in the series Amazing Chinese Inventions. Mama Kang needs her sons to help make her famous dumplings to win the annual cooking contest. However, this year the Kang brothers play with the dough, and soon, long strips fly everywhere.

With no time left, the family can bring only the strings of boiled flour. Everyone in the village always expects Mama's delicious dish to win. Will this new recipe wow the judges or will the three boys find themselves in hot water? The story features an author's note on the history of noodles and a delicious noodle recipe, ideal for eating with chopsticks.

This fanciful blend of fact and imagination brings Asian culture alive for young readers. Children will enjoy the bright and bold artwork, created in the traditional Chinese style of hand cut, colored paper. Parents will enjoy the ingenuity of the main characters who teach adults a thing or two about inventiveness.

Teachers and librarians like the storybook's historical references and how it features a bilingual translation in simplified Chinese - ideal for language classes, programs, and schools.

"Compestine's almost tongue-in-cheek tale is a nearly unbeatable combination of slapstick humor, fast pace, and food."
- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597021210
• ISBN13: 9781597021210
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Immedium
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.8" x 11.4"
• Age Range: 3 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

The Kang brothers are at it again

This is the second of the Boulder-based author's planned trilogy on the origins of three Chinese inventions: chopsticks, noodles, and (I believe) paper. The stories all feature the Kang brothers, three boisterous young boys who live in ancient China and have a penchant for accidentally coming up with new technologies. In this story, the brothers manage to make a mess of the dumpling dough their mother has left them to shape. The dough ends up torn into strips, but they discover that the strips make a tasty dish when they are cooked. This mian tiao (flour strips) dish ends up winning the annual cooking contest.Children will enjoy the description of the different ways of eating noodles: rolled on the chopsticks is "eating a drumstick"; slurping the noodle is "sucking a worm"; and biting the noodles is "cutting the grass." Young readers will also undoubtedly enjoy the author's note that people in China customarily make big slurping noises while eating noodles.The illustrations-papercuts which have bold lines and colors reminiscent of stained glass-complement the boisterous, happy tone of the book. As an added bonus, Compestine includes a recipe for "Long-Life Noodles" and a note about the history and customs of noodles.