Celebrate Chinese New Year
The Chinese year 4708 begins on February 14, 2010.
Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, is the longest and most important traditional Chinese holiday. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese New Year vary widely. One tradition is that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune and make way for incoming good luck. Also, the color red, which symbolizes fire (to drive away bad luck), is seen everywhere--clothing, windows and doors, and envelopes with money given to children. Food and fireworks are an important part of celebrations as well.
The Year of the Tiger:
The cycle of twelve animal signs is a way of naming the years. The twelve animal signs are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Every animal has particular characteristics and people born in a specific year are believed to take on these characteristics.
People born in the Year of the Tiger are thought to be loving, gracious, independent and brave. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. They are tempestuous yet calm, warm-hearted yet fearsome, courageous in the face of danger yet yielding and soft in mysterious, unexpected places.
For more information please visit:
http://pbskids.org/sagwa/games/countdown/index.html
http://www.history.com/content/chinesenewyear
http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
Contributor: Emily Griffin
Reviews
Celebrate Chinese New Year
Carolyn Otto
This new entry in the "Holidays Around the World" series satisfies on many levels. Beginning readers will find large-type, easy-to-read phrases and sentences--"We let the old year out," for example--on each two-page spread. More advanced readers will be treated to captivating descriptions of the sights, sounds, tastes, and traditions of Chinese New Year, from foods to firecrackers. All will delight in captioned photos that sparkle with excitement and bring to life the holiday as it is celebrated by children and families around the world. The six pages of back matter provide further reading for higher-level readers, teachers, and parents. Included are facts about Chinese New Year, illustrated directions for making a paper lantern, information about the Chinese calendar along with a chart of the Chinese zodiac, a recipe for fortune cookies, instructions for a game, lists of recommended books and websites, a glossary, a world map showing where the book's photos were taken, and "The Origins of Chinese New Year," by consultant Haiwang Yuan. 2009, National Geographic, Ages 6 to 10, $15.95. Reviewer: Paula K. Zeller (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9781426303814
ISBN: S9781426303821
ISBN: 1426303815
ISBN: 1426303823
Chinese New Year
Carrie Gleason
The cover of this book immediately pulled me in with its rich, red color and bright, exciting dragon. In easy-to-understand text, the book explains the ancient and modern-day Chinese New Year. Readers learn about the preparation leading up to the holiday, including cleaning, cooking, shopping for goods, and spiritual preparation. Customs are explained in detail, such as leaving sweet cakes on a kitchen altar for the Kitchen God. There are plenty of captions, excellent picture-text correlation, and "Did You Know?" features at the bottom of the pages. A partial moon cycle chart shows the phases of the moon throughout the celebration. Many books about Chinese New Year focus only on the red envelopes of money, cleaning, and fireworks. This book goes well beyond that, exploring many little-known facts about the festivities. It would make an excellent addition to classrooms for cultural studies and holiday curricula. This book is part of the "Celebrations in My World" series, which includes titles about Chinese New Year, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, Constitution Day, Day of the Dead, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan. 2009, Crabtree Publishing Company, Ages 5 to 8, $19.95 and $8.95. Reviewer: Renee Biermann (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780778742807
ISBN: 0778742806
ISBN: 9780778742982
ISBN: 0778742989
A Gift
Yong Chen
Amy knows that her mother feels homesick when it is Chinese New Year because she is missing her brothers and sister in faraway China. So they are very excited when a package arrives for them. In it, a letter tells how her farmer uncle unearthed a beautiful stone. He took it to a carver in the village who revealed the dragon he saw inside. In the package is a necklace made with the stone, a New Year gift for Amy. Amy is pleased to have the dragon, a symbol of China, from her family far away. Naturalistic watercolor paintings supply details to support the cultural content of the story. They picture not only Amy's home, but also the relatives, farm, and village in China. The warm relationship between Amy and her mother is evident; the double page of Amy smiling when she dons the necklace is a peak emotional moment. A note adds background information about the holiday and other traditions. 2009, Boyds Mills Press, Ages 5 to 8, $16.95. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9781590786109
ISBN: 1590786106
What the Rat Told Me: A Legend of the Chinese Zodiac
Marie Sellier and Wang Fei
In this elegantly-formatted book, the Emperor of the World invites all of the animals of creation to visit him at the dawn of the dawn of the world. Rat breaks his promise to awaken Cat and runs ahead of the procession of animals to jump onto Ox's horns. He jumps off as they approach the Emperor and is rewarded for his cunning by being given the first year for all eternity. Recognizing the ox as a hard worker, both courageous and forceful, the Emperor gives him the second year. And so it continues as Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig are each recognized for their virtues and assigned a year in order of their appearance. All twelve step onto the great wheel of time and remain there to this day. By the time Cat awakes, the ceremony is over. He realizes that Rat tricked him and, as a result, Cat determines that he will never be friends with Rat again. Stunning linoleum prints in black and red convey the majesty of the Emperor and each of the animals. The accompanying calligraphy symbols depicting each of the zodiac signs lends authenticity to this retelling of an ancient tale. 2009, NorthSouth Books, Ages 5 to 10, $16.95. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D. (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780735822207
ISBN: 0735822204
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Grace Lin
Best known as the award-winning author and illustrator of The Year of the Rat and The Year of the Dog, Grace Lin tries her hand at an original Chinese folktale in her new book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. All her life, young Minli has lived in the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain, a valley her storytelling father tells her is barren because the mountain above it is the broken heart of the Jade Dragon who longs to be reunited with her children. When her father tells her about the Old Man of the Moon and his ability to answer any question, however, Minli sets out to find the Old Man--using directions given to her by a talking goldfish--to learn how to improve her family's fortunes. As the goldfish's instructions take Minli through the City of Bright Moonlight, the Village of the Moon Rain, and the Never-Ending Mountain, Minli befriends many strange characters, including a trickster king, enlightened children, and a lost dragon, who all tell her stories that make her see the truth in her father's tales, but as Minli gets closer to the Old Man in the Moon, she realizes her experiences have changed her view of her family's fortunes, making her ask a question that will alter the future of the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain in unexpected ways. Drawing inspiration from not only Chinese folktales but also American fairy tales like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Grace Lin has crafted a highly accessible and compulsively readable folktale, further enhanced by her beautiful full-color illustrations. Readers who enjoy this tale will be delighted to find that Lin provides a list of books about Chinese folktales that inspired her own story at the end of her Author's Note, helping them expand their knowledge of stories from other cultures. 2009, Little Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group, Ages 8 to 12, $16.99. Reviewer: Michael Jung (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780316114271
ISBN: 0316114278
To view Chinese New Year book reviews from previous years, click on the following links:
2008 feature
2006 feature
2005 feature
2002 feature
Added 01/25/10
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