A little girl's love of dim sum spills over into her dreams, taking her on a fantastical food-filled adventure, in this picture book love letter to Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen. Beautifully illustrated with a gold foil cover, this is the perfect gift for foodies of all ages.

Liddy is so excited about going to the Dim Sum Palace tomorrow with her family that she can't sleep. So when a delicious smell wafts into her room, she hops out of bed, opens her door and steps into . . . an actual palace of dim sum! There are dumplings, baos, buns and more delicious treats than one girl can possibly eat. Liddy just has to take a bite, but she slips and falls . . . into a bowl of dumpling filling. The chefs are so busy rolling, folding and pinching dough that they don't notice they've prepared a most unusual dumpling for the Empress — a Liddy dumpling! Worst of all, she looks good enough to eat . . .

This deliciously humorous debut picture book, inspired by X. Fang's memories as a child of epic dim sum feasts, is a dreamworld adventure that is at once a glorious celebration of the sensory world of childhood and a loving helping of food, family and culture.
X. FANG, who also goes by Susan, is a visual artist and maker of books for young readers, including Dim Sum Palace, winner of the 2023 Society of Illustrators' Dilys Evans Founder's Award among other honors, and We Are Definitely Human, an Indie Next Pick and the recipient of 5 starred reviews. She exhibits her art throughout the U.S. and internationally and has worked professionally as a graphic designer and art director for film and television studios. Born in Taichung, Taiwan, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives in rural Maine with her husband, son and their dog, Pamela. View titles by X. Fang
  • WINNER | 2023
    Society of Illustrators' Founders Award
  • HONOR | 2024
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • HONOR | 2023
    Charlotte Zolotow Award
  • HONOR | 2023
    Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
WINNER of the 2023 Society of Illustrators' Dilys Evans Founder's Award
One of Chicago Public Library's Best Board & Picture Books of 2023
One of Brightly's Best Picture Books of 2023
Selected in the 2024 BRAW Amazing Bookshelf
One of The Times 21 Best Children's Books of 2024
One of Readings Best Picture Books of 2024

PRAISE FOR Dim Sum Palace:

"In this sumptuous homage to Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen by a Taiwanese American author-illustrator, a dreaming young girl follows a 'delicious smell' out of her bedroom to a palace kitchen, falls into a bowl of dumpling filling and narrowly escapes being fed to an empress." New York Times

"Fang’s delightful story about a nighttime kitchen adventure has shades of Maurice Sendak . . . but Liddy is a force unto herself. Full of finelined crosshatching and a saturated color palette, Fang’s artwork is deliciously off-kilter, with flattened and blocky figure designs and a fanciful sense of scale underscoring the charming imagination of Liddy’s dream. Food-loving kids eagerly anticipating a special treat will easily recognize Liddy’s wide-eyed excitement — and probably end up asking for a snack." —STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

"A real (delicious) trip." Kirkus Reviews

"A child eager for dim sum takes a surreal nighttime journey in Fang’s solo debut, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen. . . . Winningly whimsical." Publishers Weekly

"A delightful celebration of food, culture, and family traditions." The Horn Book

"A fantastical celebration of eating." The Guardian

"Fang’s debut solo picture book is a treat for all the senses.” Portland Press Herald

"A savory delight for young readers who enjoy dreaming about food as much as eating it." —School Library Journal

"[A] dreamworld adventure that is at once a glorious celebration of the sensory world of childhood and a loving helping of food, family and culture." Vancouver Writers Fest

"Every page emanates exuberant energy via Fang's stylized graphite and digitally colored illustrations." Shelf Awareness

"Fang's mix of ingredients from traditional Chinese techniques to Sendak’s edgy humor, give the book a distinctive appeal. . . . Fang also captures a child’s apprehensions, but adds some tenderness to the mix." Imaginary Elevators

About

A little girl's love of dim sum spills over into her dreams, taking her on a fantastical food-filled adventure, in this picture book love letter to Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen. Beautifully illustrated with a gold foil cover, this is the perfect gift for foodies of all ages.

Liddy is so excited about going to the Dim Sum Palace tomorrow with her family that she can't sleep. So when a delicious smell wafts into her room, she hops out of bed, opens her door and steps into . . . an actual palace of dim sum! There are dumplings, baos, buns and more delicious treats than one girl can possibly eat. Liddy just has to take a bite, but she slips and falls . . . into a bowl of dumpling filling. The chefs are so busy rolling, folding and pinching dough that they don't notice they've prepared a most unusual dumpling for the Empress — a Liddy dumpling! Worst of all, she looks good enough to eat . . .

This deliciously humorous debut picture book, inspired by X. Fang's memories as a child of epic dim sum feasts, is a dreamworld adventure that is at once a glorious celebration of the sensory world of childhood and a loving helping of food, family and culture.

Author

X. FANG, who also goes by Susan, is a visual artist and maker of books for young readers, including Dim Sum Palace, winner of the 2023 Society of Illustrators' Dilys Evans Founder's Award among other honors, and We Are Definitely Human, an Indie Next Pick and the recipient of 5 starred reviews. She exhibits her art throughout the U.S. and internationally and has worked professionally as a graphic designer and art director for film and television studios. Born in Taichung, Taiwan, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives in rural Maine with her husband, son and their dog, Pamela. View titles by X. Fang

Awards

  • WINNER | 2023
    Society of Illustrators' Founders Award
  • HONOR | 2024
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • HONOR | 2023
    Charlotte Zolotow Award
  • HONOR | 2023
    Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices

Praise

WINNER of the 2023 Society of Illustrators' Dilys Evans Founder's Award
One of Chicago Public Library's Best Board & Picture Books of 2023
One of Brightly's Best Picture Books of 2023
Selected in the 2024 BRAW Amazing Bookshelf
One of The Times 21 Best Children's Books of 2024
One of Readings Best Picture Books of 2024

PRAISE FOR Dim Sum Palace:

"In this sumptuous homage to Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen by a Taiwanese American author-illustrator, a dreaming young girl follows a 'delicious smell' out of her bedroom to a palace kitchen, falls into a bowl of dumpling filling and narrowly escapes being fed to an empress." New York Times

"Fang’s delightful story about a nighttime kitchen adventure has shades of Maurice Sendak . . . but Liddy is a force unto herself. Full of finelined crosshatching and a saturated color palette, Fang’s artwork is deliciously off-kilter, with flattened and blocky figure designs and a fanciful sense of scale underscoring the charming imagination of Liddy’s dream. Food-loving kids eagerly anticipating a special treat will easily recognize Liddy’s wide-eyed excitement — and probably end up asking for a snack." —STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

"A real (delicious) trip." Kirkus Reviews

"A child eager for dim sum takes a surreal nighttime journey in Fang’s solo debut, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen. . . . Winningly whimsical." Publishers Weekly

"A delightful celebration of food, culture, and family traditions." The Horn Book

"A fantastical celebration of eating." The Guardian

"Fang’s debut solo picture book is a treat for all the senses.” Portland Press Herald

"A savory delight for young readers who enjoy dreaming about food as much as eating it." —School Library Journal

"[A] dreamworld adventure that is at once a glorious celebration of the sensory world of childhood and a loving helping of food, family and culture." Vancouver Writers Fest

"Every page emanates exuberant energy via Fang's stylized graphite and digitally colored illustrations." Shelf Awareness

"Fang's mix of ingredients from traditional Chinese techniques to Sendak’s edgy humor, give the book a distinctive appeal. . . . Fang also captures a child’s apprehensions, but adds some tenderness to the mix." Imaginary Elevators

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more