Duck Duck Books

​On Sunday March 12th Duck Duck Books and Jezuba worked together to celebrate the publication of The Ugly Dumplings with fun activities like dumpling and scallion pancake making, art and story time. These activities took place at the Village Square Branch Library in San Jose. It was offered at no cost to the community.

The guests at the event could take part in many activities including reading the newly published book The Ugly Dumplings. The club Duck Duck Books was founded in 2021 by Lavender Chen. Duck Duck Books’ mission is to write children’s books that teach valuable lessons and also to provide free books to those who may not have access to them. The book itself teaches kids that no matter how something looks on the outside, it is really what is on the inside that matters. This idea is demonstrated through a metaphor using dumplings. No matter how ugly a dumpling looks, in the end it will taste just as delicious as the better-looking dumplings. Guests of all ages took part in the activities throughout the day, including a story time read by volunteers.

The experience was fun and informative that people of all ages enjoyed. I liked remembering how to make dumplings and learning for the first time how to make a scallion pancake. Eating my work was even more rewarding! I look forward to seeing what else Duck Duck Books publishes.

​(Gareth Cartier, right, Tej Nadkarni, left, reading The Ugly Dumplings during story time.)