Review by Booklist Review
This beautifully illustrated picture book brings together the author's Chinese heritage and Jewish religion. Ho thoughtfully compares aspects of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and the Asian Lunar New Year, from ways of expressing wishes for the new year to special foods. Often one page of a spread is devoted to depicting Rosh Hashanah customs and the other to Lunar New Year customs, while at other times, both aspects nestle closely on the same page, emphasizing the cultures' similarities. Scurfield wields her brightly toned inks with joyful precision, filling the pages with colorful details that expand on the similarities and differences between the two traditions, as described in the brief lines of text, and show them in action. The illustrations are particularly helpful when the text takes a broader or more general point of view. In addition to the main story, the book features 10 pages of back matter, mainly for adults, including an author's note explaining Ho's personal background and a visual glossary with detailed descriptions of many of the symbols and traditions found throughout the book. An excellent look at varied New Year customs that celebrates multiculturalism in a way young readers of all backgrounds can easily grasp.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Via two new year's celebrations--Rosh Hashanah in the fall and Lunar New Year in the spring--a multicultural family celebrates a "shared year of double blessings" in this thoughtfully crafted picture book. Accessible text by Ho acknowledges differences between the observances ("One follows the Jewish calendar. One follows the Chinese calendar") before delving into their similarities. Both new years "mark the passage of time," "bring families together" (including bubbies, zaydies, ma mas, and yeh yehs), and "inspire delicious dishes" that symbolize shared wishes for the new year. Employing two distinctive backgrounds whose styles join as the pages turn, Scurfield's luminous ink illustrations portray the family, including one pale-skinned Jewish and one Chinese parent, taking part in the celebrations, creating a visual melding of experiences that hint at what an author's note calls "the joy of celebrating many worlds." Back matter includes a detailed visual glossary. Ages 3--5. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--3--Inspired by his own Chinese and Jewish backgrounds, Ho contrasts the different ways New Year is celebrated in the two traditions in order to highlight the commonalities that lie beneath--from special foods to new clothes, from blowing the shofar to sending paper lanterns into the sky, from bidding goodbye to bad luck by sweeping it out the door to dropping pebbles or bread crumbs into a stream (taschlich). Both the Jewish and Asian New Year celebrations, he writes, "bring family home. Children and grandchildren reunite with bubbies and zaydies, rejoice with ma mas and yeh yehs, and remember the ancestors who live in our hearts." In her radiant illustrations, Scurfield depicts a biracial couple and their children enjoying the double set of festivities and rituals, in public and intimate domestic settings. The author concludes with descriptions of the two "lunisolar" calendars and expansive notes on each set of holiday rituals, symbols, and practices. VERDICT An illuminating set of contrasts and parallels likely to leave younger audiences primed to welcome different ways of celebrating every version of the new year and to compare them with those of their own families.--John Edward Peters
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two different cultures share joy in many ways. A family consisting of a light-skinned Jewish parent with a head covering, a Chinese parent, and their two children celebrate two new years. Parallel stores in the illustrations depict the family observing Rosh Hashana and Lunar New Year. While there are obvious differences between the two holidays ("One follows the Jewish calendar. One follows the Chinese calendar"), the focus is on the "many ways they are also alike"; an accompanying image shows the parents holding hands across the pages as they bridge cultures. The gentle narrative reveals the meanings behind each tradition, while delicate, intricate illustrations depict culturally specific practices such as the Chinese custom of sweeping dirt out of the house and the Jewish ceremony of tashlich. "Both New Years inspire delicious dishes," and two sides of a double-page spread show the delectable new year feasts from both cultures. The children's expressions glow as they gather with a diverse congregation in a synagogue to sing; on the facing page, the silhouetted family's happiness is clear as they watch lanterns lift into the night sky. Scurfield deftly uses differing color schemes, with light blue and patterns of white to represent the Jewish traditions, while bold red patterns and yellow represent the Chinese side. As the story progresses, the contrasting patterns and colors bleed into each other to truly celebrate all of the family's identities. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A bright, sparkling celebration of a multicultural family. (author's note, visual glossary) (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
