Lunar New Year

In this survey of preparations and celebrations around the year's biggest Chinese festival, young Ling opens up this educational picture book with an accounting of the 15 days of Lunar New Year. With grandmother Po Po's help, "bad luck and evil spirits" are swept away, and Ling and little sister Mei polish the statue of the Kitchen God before brushing his lips with honey. The family also fills the house with blooms, shops for new outfits, and cooks their favorite meals, making enough for departed ancestors to enjoy in the Afterlife, before a family feast begins. Yim discusses the symbolism behind each step ("We eat dumplings for wealth, noodles for long life"), while Wang relays the jovial mood with crisp color-block illustrations in hues of lucky red. The celebrations continue with lion dances and lantern-lighting--with family time at the heart of this thorough holiday accounting. Back matter includes activities and riddles. Ages 5--7. (Nov.)

K-Gr 2--Ling, a young girl excited for the holiday, introduces readers to Lunar New Year as she prepares for and celebrates with her family. In addition to showing the characters cleaning the house, shopping, and decorating with red banners, this text goes further than many similar titles, as Ling also paints honey on the Kitchen God's lips, burns paper representations of household goods and wealth for her deceased grandfather, and celebrates the lantern festival. Each activity is exuberantly and thoroughly explained by the young narrator. Text is broken up with retro-feel illustrations. Indoor scenes, in particular, are infused with a muted warm palette, creating a cozy feeling as Ling celebrates with her family. All characters are Chinese. Extensive back matter contains further details on the holiday, including information on the zodiac; a dumpling recipe; a red envelope craft; lantern riddles; information on celebrations in Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines; and a quiz. VERDICT A fun and solid introduction to the holiday that includes more ways of celebrating than many similar titles. Recommended for most collections.--Jennifer Rothschild

A Chinese family celebrates Lunar New Year. As the family prepares for the holiday, a child named Ling clearly elucidates the significance of the traditions they follow, from cleaning the house ("We sweep away bad luck and evil spirits") to applying honey to the lips of the Kitchen God statue ("We want him to only say sweet things"). Then there's shopping to do as well as cooking for the big New Year's Eve family reunion dinner. Each page is full of details describing both what the family does and what each action or item represents, and Ling is on hand to explain it all. Yim recounts the famous legend of the New Year beast and offers descriptions of the New Year's parade, kite flying, and the Lantern Festival at the end of the celebrations. Wang's illustrations are cheerful and colorful, a flat graphic style with stylized, round-headed figures (while some have black circle eyes, most have slanted lines for eyes). The body of the book feels robust enough, with plenty of solid narrated information, but readers will find even more information in the lengthy backmatter: the history of the holiday, information on the Chinese zodiac, New Year greetings in Mandarin and Cantonese, riddles, a recipe for dumplings, a craft, examples of how Lunar New Year is observed in other cultures, and a quiz. A comprehensive and accessible introduction to an important Chinese holiday. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.