Chinese New Year Books for Kids

It has been a very long time since I've posted anything. Many apologies to my readers! 

In August, we welcomed baby Ailin (爱霖), whose name I translate (with some creative liberties) as "deluge of love." Born during a summer downpour, she is all sweetness but being a mommy to three has taken more of me than I imagined, and I am just now starting to write down all the ideas that have been circling in my head for months.

In honor of Year of the Horse, here is a list (and mini reviews) of some of my kids' and my favorite English-language children's books about the New Year.  

My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz (Henry Holt and Company: NY, 2004) is the story of how a little girl prepares for the Chinese New Years with her family: sweeping the bad luck away with a broom, purchasing plum blossoms, getting a haircut and wearing new clothes. The book features Katz’s signature colorful and endearing illustrations. Unlike Katz’s board books, this book is geared toward older babies, toddlers or even preschool age.

  

In Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin (Alfred A. Knopf: NY, 2008), a young girl tells of her family's preparations for the Lunar New Year: hanging red couplets, making dumplings, sweeping the floors, getting a haircut, and wearing new clothing. The celebration culminates in a dragon dance, which is depicted on a large three-page fold-out. 

Children will be swept into the New Year's celebrations by Lin's vibrant illustrations. Parents will appreciate the cultural notes Lin provides about the traditions described in her book. 

A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong and Zhu Cheng-Liang (Candlewick Press: Mass, 2011) tells the story of Chinese New Year, as experienced by Maomao, a young girl whose father works far away, and can travel home only for the important holiday. When the father arrives home, the family of three make sticky rice balls (yuanxiao), fix up the house, and watch a dragon dance weave its way through town.

The illustrations are touching, the bright colors of the Chinese New Year celebration and child’s clothing contrast the dark colors of the father’s clothing.  I love this book because it captures Chinese New Year as experienced by many families across China. It captures both the joy of being reunited as well as the sorrow of separation when the father must return to work, all through a child’s eyes.

Long Long’s New Year: A Story about the Chinese Spring Festival (Tuttle Publishing: Boston, 2005) is a story about a young boy (Long Long) who helps his grandfather (a cabbage seller) earn enough money to buy food and supplies for his family’s Spring Festival. 

The story captures the hustle and bustle of small village life in the days leading up to New Years. The illustrations, which look like they were painted on antique rice paper, are replete with details of village life and will appeal to adults and children who will enjoy looking for hidden details.

Silk Peony, Parade Dragon by Elizabeth Steckman (Boyd Mills Press: PA, 1997) is the story of Silk Peony, a magnificent dragon who is rented by a powerful mandarin for the annual New Year’s parade. Based on legend, this is the story of how the dragon came to lead the New Year’s parade.  The traditional story and whimsical illustrations of dragons are sure to appeal to young children and the young at heart.

The Star Maker by Laurence Yep (Harper Collins: NY, 2011) tells the story of young Artie during the months leading up to Chinese New Year in San Francisco Chinatown during the 1950s. Throughout the book, Artie is vexed with how he will come up with the money to buy firecrackers**for all of his cousins to set off during the Lunar New Year, a boast he made to his cousin Petey during a family dinner. This is a story of a young child’s perceptions of family (his idolization of his Uncle Chester, disdain for cousin Petey, and respect for Granny), in the context of 1950s Chinatown. A chapter book, this will most appeal to kids in 1st-3rd grade. 

**Parents, don't worry: In the preface, Yep explains that even though firecrackers were legal when he was a child, he always set them off when his parents were close by. He encourages children reading his story to stay away from firecrackers due to their danger**

Children's Book Review: Chopsticks

In light of my post a few weeks back about chopsticks in the garden, I want to share this cute book I picked up at our local library.

Chopsticks (2012), by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon, is an endearing and hilarious tale of best pals who are literally inseparable, until one of the “sticks” breaks his tip while karate-chopping an asparagus. You’ve got to see the illustrations—zany fun! 

Chopstick #1 doesn’t leave Chopstick #2’s side while his friend heals, but after much persuasion, Chopstick #1 ventures out into the world to see what one lone chopstick can do. He masquerades as a veggie skewer, pick-up stick, cupcake tester, and conductor’s baton before returning to his pal Chopstick #2 (now healed) and realizing that being apart has made them even stronger.  Then, off the pair goes to share new adventures (as drumsticks and a compass). 

The anthropomorphic illustrations (teabags and whisks--even pick-up sticks--with faces) and the pun-filled text (i.e. the sugar packet says, “Sweet!”) will keep you and your child giggling.  And you just might discover some new uses for one or two of your own chopsticks. 

Children's Books about Chinese Food

How do you introduce your kids (picky eaters included) to new Chinese food in a fun, low-pressure way?  Read to them! Here are two of my favorite children's books about Chinese food that are sure to entertain both kids and adults, and might even make your tummy rumble!

For Young Readers (Picture Book):

 The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine (Penguin Dutton, 2011)

The Runaway Wok is the story of a poor peasant boy, Ming, who trades his family’s last eggs for a magic wok.  Soon the wok is galloping throughout Beijing stealing succulent dishes, toys, and money from the stingy but wealthy Li family, and depositing these goodies at Ming’s house. Ming’s family distributes the goods to the whole village, who then celebrate Chinese New Year together as the wok whisks the Li family out of town.  Parents will appreciate the author’s note about the Chinese New Year and recipe for Festive Fried Rice at the back of the book.  Kids will love the lively story and colorful illustrations.  If you like this book, check out Compestine’s The Runaway Rice Cake (2001), another Chinese New Year tale involving magic and food.

For Older Readers (Chapter Book):

 Dumpling Days by Grace Lin (Little, Brown, 2012)

In this sequel to Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, heroine Pacy travels with her family to Taiwan to visit family and celebrate grandmother’s sixtieth birthday.  During the twenty-eight day visit, Pacy and her sisters share many new experiences: watching Chinese opera at a temple in Taichung, mailing postcards from the tallest building in Taipei, and sampling new foods at the night market.  In fact the entire book, as the title suggests, is full of food. Lin’s descriptions and illustrations of the new foods that Pacy tries will delight young and old alike: soft-skinned peach buns, steaming Chinese dumpling soup, crisp and sweet wax apples. The Lin sisters also experience Taiwanese culture through art classes that their mother has signed them up for.  These classes are initially a source of frustration for Pacy, who struggles with brush technique despite being “good at art” back in the United States.  The classes are a lens through which Lin depicts Pacy’s conflicted feelings about her Taiwanese-American identity--at times, the heroine feels like she doesn’t fit in and other times, she feels invisible (due to the language barrier), feelings that Lin resolves toward the end of the book.

In addition to Lin’s mouth-watering descriptions of food and her simple but poignant approach to cultural identity, I love the small illustrations that intersperse the chapters:  how to hold chopsticks (Chpt 2), instructions for making dumplings (Chpt 4), and a collection of all the different dumplings Pacy sampled (last page).  Also, your young reader will be tickled to see the small flipbook illustration of a crossing light on the corner of the each page. When you flip through the pages, the figure on the crossing light “walks” and the number counts down from forty to zero—brilliant!

If you like this book, check out Lin’s other books.  Themes of food run through her other chapter books, Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, as well as her picture books, Dim Sum for Everyone, Bringing in the New Year, and Thanking the Moon.

What are your favorite children's books about Chinese food?