CHLOE’S LUNAR NEW YEAR

An Asian American family celebrates a traditional holiday.

Chloe’s family is getting ready for Lunar New Year: cleaning their house, tossing old shoes, and trying on new ones to usher in good fortune. The excitement is palpable as Chloe looks forward to the reunion dinner with the whole family, including A-má (grandma). Chloe and little sibling Noah set the table, putting good-luck oranges into a bowl, and help prepare festive dishes: turnip cakes fried golden brown, a whole fish symbolizing plenty, and A-má’s favorite, hot pot. For dessert, a homemade apple pie goes into the oven. As the relatives arrive, we witness an extended family gathering that is a slice of contemporary American life, highlighting intergenerational connections and honoring ancestors. Themes of love and family underlie the snappy text. The spare drawings are most engaging on the endpapers featuring portraits in a family album. The backmatter includes a recipe for Fortune Cake (“huat kué” in Taiwanese) and describes the importance of traditional Asian new year celebrations. In the author’s note, LaMotte discusses some of the foods served at Lunar New Year in Taiwan and explains how, as she was growing up, her family incorporated both American and Taiwanese traditions. Chloe’s Uncle Tony is White, with light-colored hair; everyone else presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sentimental and sweet story.