Author: Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrator: YongSheng Xuan
Format: Hardcover
Published: Holiday House, 2001

"Long ago all Chinese people ate with their hands, including members of a family named Kang." The three Kang brothers, Pan, Ting, and Kuai, love to eat, and their mother is a wonderful cook, but Kuai is always hungry. By the time the food is cool enough for him to touch, his older, quicker brothers have already eaten most of it. So, Kuai gets some sticks and grabs the food before his brothers can reach it. Pretty soon, everyone is eating with kuai zi, meaning quick ones. A satisfying story and striking cut-paper illustrations imagine one reason chopsticks may have been invented. Additional information about the history of chopsticks and instructions on how to use them are included.