'Dim Sum' makes Chinese food kids' stuff

Wondering what to buy that hard-to-please toddler for Chinese New Year? "Yum Yum Dim Sum," a board book by Woods Hole artist and author Amy Wilson Sanger is the fourth in publisher Tricycle Press's "World Snacks" series. Previous titles introduced youngsters to sushi, Mexican specialties, and Jewish food. Your children's appetites and yours will be whetted not only by the mention of scallion pancakes, sticky rice, and more, but also by the inventive mixed-media collages Sanger creates to illustrate the dishes. Her verse pleases the

ear and the palate: "I touch a slippery bean sprout sprung from a spring

roll, and count the lucky oranges in the thousand-year-old bowl." Sanger, a Museum of Fine Arts School graduate, has a fifth book due out in February, which is Black History Month. "A Little Bit of Soul Food" will celebrate traditional Southern cooking.

DIANE DANIEL

"Yum Yum Dim Sum" (Tricycle Press, $6.95) is at bookstores or go to www.tenspeedpress.com.