Author Visit: Meera Sririam

Last week the elementary school students learned from guest author Meera Sririam.

She read Dumpling Day- a colorful peek into how different cultures eat a form of dumpling. Along with reading her book, Meera shared with the kids her story of growing up in India and leaving a career in engineering to become a children’s book author to create more stories for children like her own, who are underrepresented in children’s books.

She shared the framework of how books can be mirrors (when we see ourselves and experiences reflected back to us) and windows (when we see others’ experiences). Many of the students reflected by writing about a food from their culture or heritage and a name they call someone in their family.

Dumpling Day: Savor a rhyming celebration of one of the world’s most universal foods! Readers follow ten diverse families as they cook dumplings inside their homes in preparation for a neighborhood potluck. Dumplings are added to plates one by one, encouraging children to count with each new addition. Authentic recipes for all the dumplings and a map showing their regions of origin are included in the endnotes. Dumpling Day features dumplings from the following regions: India USA (Pennsylvania Dutch), China (Cantonese), Nigeria, Japan, Israel, Mexico, Syria, Russia, and Italy.