A cozy celebration brimming with traditions and sisterly love.
Two siblings eagerly prepare for the Korean Lunar New Year.
Madeleine excitedly wakes her younger sister, Eloise. “It’s Seollal! We have to get ready for the Lunar New Year party!” she exclaims. Madeleine’s already getting out their garments as Eloise is still reluctantly stirring. After the girls don their hanboks, they go downstairs to see that Mom has prepared the charae-sang, the ceremonial table covered with food offerings to the ancestors. They hurry to make mandoo, or dumplings, and join their relatives for yutnori, a game where players must strategically throw marked sticks. Mom calls the sisters for sebae, and the girls bow in gratitude to their elders. A warm sibling dynamic is apparent as the playful narrative unfolds, with bossy but loving Madeleine explaining various elements of the holiday to Eloise (and readers). Yum’s deftly blended colored pencil illustrations emphasize the joy of the celebrations; her knack for capturing children’s expressions is especially evident on a spread depicting Eloise intently attempting to create the perfect mandoo. Some drama ensues as Madeleine realizes she’s forgotten to compose a poem to read to her visiting family (as she does each year), but with Eloise’s gentle encouragement, Madeleine writes and recites her verse. Instructions for a craft project and a recipe for mandoo follow, encouraging readers to further explore the holiday.
A cozy celebration brimming with traditions and sisterly love. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567302
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area.
A pair of cardinals is separated and then reunited when their tree home is moved to New York City to serve as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The male cardinal, Red, and his female partner, Lulu, enjoy their home in a huge evergreen tree located in the front yard of a small house in a pleasant neighborhood. When the tree is cut down and hauled away on a truck, Lulu is still inside the tree. Red follows the truck into the city but loses sight of it and gets lost. The birds are reunited when Red finds the tree transformed with colored lights and serving as the Christmas tree in a complex of city buildings. When the tree is removed after Christmas, the birds find a new home in a nearby park. Each following Christmas, the pair visit the new tree erected in the same location. Attractive illustrations effectively handle some difficult challenges of dimension and perspective and create a glowing, magical atmosphere for the snowy Christmas trees. The original owners of the tree are a multiracial family with two children; the father is African-American and the mother is white. The family is in the background in the early pages, reappearing again skating on the rink at Rockefeller Center with their tree in the background.
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7733-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Thoughtful and joyful.
A child of Vietnamese descent fantasizes about the perfect outfit for Tết.
One night, Mai dreams about being a big “STAAAAAAR” and fielding questions on the red carpet. Mai’s literal dream dress is a sparkly silver ballroom gown with a sweetheart cut. After waking up, the child is eager to tell Ba all about it, but first it’s time to get ready. It’s the first day of Tết, or Lunar New Year, and the family plans to celebrate at Mai’s grandmother’s house. Though Mai loves visiting Bà Nội, the child balks at donning the áo dài, a Vietnamese outfit consisting of a tunic worn over trousers. “Stars wear dresses and gowns,” Mai tells Ba. But Ba shows Mai the family photo album, explaining that Bà Nội had her own sewing school in Vietnam and that her students lovingly dubbed her the “Queen of Áo Dài.” To keep their traditions alive when the family emigrated, Bà Nội continued to make áo dài for her loved ones, and the children learned to sew them as an expression of love. Finally, with a newfound appreciation for the garment, Mai greets Bà Nội with a hug, clad in a customized áo dài made by Ba. Told entirely through naturally expressed and well-paced dialogue and accompanied by vividly textured illustrations, this is a loving tale of a family finding a creative way to reshape a beloved tradition.
Thoughtful and joyful. (glossary, “let’s design our own áo dài” activity) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665917346
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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