Luna Picks a Lucky Dumpling

Luna eagerly anticipates the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, particularly the delicious sticky-rice dumplings called joong. Each year, her mama prepares the dumplings and tucks salted duck egg yolks inside a select few. Everyone hopes to choose one of the lucky egg-filled dumplings. After the dumplings are assembled, Luna mixes them up on the platter. She wants to make sure her little brother gets a lucky dumpling, as it’s the first time, he is old enough to eat them. But when he falls asleep and guests begin selecting dumplings without him, the probability of his success steadily diminishes. This lively installment in the “Storytelling Math” series seamlessly blends cultural tradition with accessible math concepts, offering young readers a concrete, visual way to understand probability. Back matter provides additional math explorations to extend learning, along with a brief explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival and a link to a video demonstrating how to make sticky-rice dumplings. Kim’s bright, engaging illustrations feature Luna’s family and friends in large, expressive scenes; the changing arrangements of dumplings on each platter clearly reinforce the mathematical concept at work. VERDICT A vibrant, culturally rich addition to math collections that engagingly combines storytelling and probability.

Natasha Yim was born in Malaysia, grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong, and now lives in California. She is the author of many picture books, including Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum, Luna and the Missing Mooncakes, and Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas.

World traveler Violet Kim studied illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and now lives in Taiwan. She is the illustrator of Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum, Luna and the Missing Mooncakes, The Little Gray Bunny, and many other picture books.

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