Ten Little Dumplings

In a Chinese family with ten sons, the boys are known as little dumplings, a name tied both to how round they were as babies and to dumplings’ auspicious place in the family’s tradition. The brothers dress, play, eat, and sleep together as they grow up. Midway through, the narrator reveals that she is their sister, present but less noticed. Her own childhood includes listening, studying, learning, and finding her talent as an artist; later, she has a daughter of her own.