Imaginative Quill

I'm so excited to be releasing two books in back to back months - my 2nd board book Brave Little Otter (It's Okay to Wait), was just released by Charlesbridge Publishing in April, and a picture book Luna Picks a Lucky Dumpling, the 3rd picture book I've written for Charlesbridge Publishing's Storytelling Math series will be out on May 19 (see details below).

If you're familiar with my books, you know I love to write about festivals, cultural traditions — and food! Luna Picks a Lucky Dumpling will feature my 3rd favorite Chinese festival, the Dragon Boat Festival (after Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival). I'm dedicating this issue to the reasons I LOVE this festival - from the thrill of dragon boat racing, eating sticky rice dumplings (and the story and significance of why we eat them during this celebration), and a cute dragon boat craft to make with your kids and/or students.

Natasha

The Dragon Boat Festival is a three-day festival that dates back over two thousand years! It’s often called the Double Fifth Festival because it falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar. This is usually sometime between late May and late June on the Western calendar.

The highlight of the festival, dragon boat racing, is fun and exciting! Long, sleek, wooden boats with dragon heads and tails slice through the water to the rhythm of drumbeats. Another favorite activity is eating sticky-rice dumplings, called joong in Cantonese and zongxi in Mandarin. It’s especially lucky if you find the yolk of a salted duck’s egg in your dumpling because its round shape and yellow color represent wealth or riches.

As with many festivals, there's a legend behind the Dragon Boat Festival, and probably many versions of it. This is the one I heard as a child:

In the Warring States period, an advisor to the Emperor of Chu, Qu Yuan, warned the Emperor not to meet with the emperor of a neighboring kingdom as he suspected a trap. The Emperor dismissed his warnings, and was ambushed and captured, and the Kingdom of Chu fell into enemy hands. Qu Yuan was so distraught that he threw himself into the Milao River and drowned. In one version of this legend (the one I heard most often) the people of the Kingdom of Chu took to their fishing boats, pounded on drums, and threw rice into the river so the fish would eat the rice and leave Qu Yuan's body alone. The other version is that Qu Yuan became a water spirit and people threw rice into the river to appease his spirit, but the water dragon always ate the rice. In Chinese folklore, dragons are the rulers of the water, oceans and rivers. Unlike dragons in western myths, they are benevolent creatures, much revered for bringing rain and good harvests. In either case, the tradition of rowing dragon boats on a body of water, and later dragon boat racing, and the eating of sticky rice dumplings became part of the rituals of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Some of the most memorable moments of this festival when I lived in Hong Kong in the 1970s were going to Aberdeen Harbor with my family and watching the dragon boat races. Sleek, brightly colored boats with carved dragon heads at the bow, and dragon tails at the stern lined up at the starting line. The boats often carried up to 10 pairs of paddlers. A steer person, called a sweep or cox, at the back kept the boat on a straight course. My favorite was the drummer in the front whose pounding rhythm on a large drum kept the paddlers on pace and in time. Those drumbeats added to the thrill and excitement of the race! Watch the dragon boat race below, filmed by CCTV Video News Agency. The precision and speed of the paddlers always amazes me.

And of course, no festival is complete without the food item that symbolizes the festival, in this case — sticky rice dumplings! During the rest of the year, you can get these at any Chinese dim sum restaurant, but they're especially significant during the Dragon Boat Festival as they commemorate and honor Qu Yuan.

Sticky rice dumplings are made with glutinous (sticky) rice, stuffed with sweet or savory fillings, wrapped in banana leaves, then boiled or steamed. The fillings vary depending on region. Cantonese-style, joong, is often filled with marinated pork belly, mung bean paste, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, and sausagesI. Hokkien-style, bak chang, known for a dark brown color, uses rice cooked in soy sauce and five-spice powder, filled with chestnuts and pork. Northern Chinese style can be filled with red bean paste, nuts and other sweet fillings, or pork. And sticky rice dumplings from Sichuan are spicy and savory, featuring Sichuan peppercorns, chili, and dried, smoked, or preserved meat.

I always love mine with plenty of Chinese sausages and a round, golden duck egg yolk. How about you? Have you eaten sticky rice dumplings? What's your favorite filling?

And if you'd like to try a hand at making your own sticky rice dumplings, this is the video from Souped up Recipes referenced in the back of Luna Picks a Lucky Dumpling.

Here's a simple, cute dragon boat craft you can do with your child or student.

I love to weave the cultural traditions, rituals, and legends of Chinese festivals into my stories, and after featuring Chinese New Year in Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014) and the Mid-Autumn Festival in Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2025), the Dragon Boat Festival finally gets its turn!

Luna Picks a Lucky Dumpling releases on May 19! I'm so excited to introduce you to the 3rd Luna adventure in Charlesbridge Publishing's Storytelling Math series.

Luna and her cousin Mina are making sticky-rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival. Hidden inside some of them is a lucky golden egg yolk. Everyone wants a lucky dumpling! Especially Bei-Bei, Luna's youngest cousin. How can Luna and Mina improve little Bei-Bei's chances of picking a lucky dumpling?

Where to Buy the Book:

Mendocino Book Company (for signed copies)

Bookshop.org

Charlesbridge Publishing

My 2nd board book for Charlesbridge Publishing released on April 21. This follows No School for Me! (Change is Hard) which was published on August. 12, 2025.

Little Otter and Dad are having a beach day!

But when Dad suggests they go for a swim, Little Otter hesitates. First the water looks cold. Later the waves are too rough. So they decide to build a sandcastle and go for a walk instead. Little Otter even makes a new friend along the way! At the end of the day, Little Otter feels ready to brave the waves. Except Little Otter doesn't want to go underwater--maybe next time!

A sweet story that expands the value of bravery, from trying new things to taking your time.

Where to Buy the Book:

Mendocino Book Company (for signed copies)

Bookshop.org

Charlesbridge Publishing

My husband and I just celebrated 27 years of marriage with a cruise on the Mississippi River, which has given me some great photos to fire up your muse! In this museum we visited, a table was laid with china - who sat here for tea? Who was invited/not invited? Why? Whose portrait hangs on the wall?

Feel free to send me a paragraph or two of writing this photo inspired, and I'll post it in a future newsletter. Have a photo you think would make a great story prompt? Send it to me with photo credits to natashayim@icloud.com and the subject line: Imaginative Quill Photo Prompt.

I'm part of a AAPIH book group on Instagram, and we just conducted an Instagram giveaway where ONE lucky US librarian or teacher was chosen to win a set of AAPHI books for their classroom or library.

I'm thrilled to announce that the winner is: NOELLE BOLSTAD of John Swett Elementary School in Martinez, CA.! Congratulations, Noelle! Your books are on the way.

You can check out these wonderful books celebrating various Asian cultures for your own or your students' libraries.

More events will be added soon as dates are finalized. Please visit my website: www.natashayim.com for up to date events.

Please contact The Booking Tree for more info, and to request a visit.

Email: natashayim@icloud.com

Website: www.natashayim.com