Tricky Chopsticks

Sylvia Chen remembers transferring slippery wet marbles from rice bowl to rice bowl to quicken her chopsticks skills at her childhood home in Queens, New York. She much prefers picking up dim sum and other yummy food with chopsticks—even fried chicken! She loves figuring out tricky challenges with a bit of STEAM-based trial and error, which includes making DIY costumes for her kids, often with duct tape, dollar-store finds, and LED lights. Visit her online at SylviaIChen.com.Fanny Liem was born and raised in Indonesia, and she has loved to draw since she was a little kid. Her passion for storytelling and illustration was ignited at a young age by the picture books given to her by her uncle. When she is not drawing, she enjoys watching movies and listening to country music. Because of her love of noodles, Fanny was determined to learn to use chopsticks (even though it took a lot of practice!). Visit her online at FannyWen.com.

"Chen’s use of onomatopoeia (represented in both English and Mandarin characters) perfectly conveys Jenny’s frustrations, while Liem’s appealing cartoon illustrations capture Jenny’s experiments in chopstick re-engineering with slapstick humor and cleverness. Young chopstick users will find comfort in this story about a common rite of passage, but all readers will be delighted by Jenny’s problem-solving prowess. . . A funny, relatable tale about the value of creative thinking and persistence."