Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

Today is the Chinese New Year! I have to admit, we haven’t done much celebrating the last few years as it’s just been Taylor and I, but as our children get older we will make a bigger deal of Chinese New Year to help our children learn of their ancestry. Our only celebration this year was this past Friday when Taylor’s sister flew in from Hawaii for a short visit and Grandma and Grandpa sent over some yummy goodies that would survive the plane ride: Chu Cheong Fun, a delicious rice noodle stuffed with shrimp or char siu (roast pork) and served simply with soy sauce on top, a sticky rice cake, and peanut sesame candy.

As my blog is just three months old, many of you are still getting to know the face behind Maw Books. Six and a half years ago, I married into a wonderful Chinese family (well, technically, my husband is half Chinese, and his other Caucasian half is wonderful too!).  I have sense learned much of the Chinese culture but still don’t know enough to pass on to my children their culturally rich heritage background. Here are some excellent books for the little ones to learn about Chinese New Year:

My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz.
This fun and colorful way to introduce the Chinese New Year lets young readers follow one little girl as she learns how to welcome the coming year and experience all the festivities surrounding it (from the publisher).

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Happy, Happy Chinese New Year by Demi
“In a book that is itself a celebration, Demi explains the rituals and ideas behind the Chinese New Year festival. The last 15 days of the old year are spent cleaning and preparing (’Wash your hair and get a new haircut. Pay the debts that you owe and collect what is owed to you!’). On the eve of the new moon, a special feast is prepared. . . . The first 15 days of the new year are spent celebrating with lion dances, firecrackers, and other activities. Demi’s characteristic tiny, lively figures illustrate each page, with several spreads devoted to small, labeled pictures identifying things associated with the holiday. Infused with joy and filled with information.”–”Booklist

Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book by Joan Holub
It’s Chinese New Year and there are so many fun things to do! Shopping at the outdoor market for fresh flowers, eating New Year’s dinner with the whole family, receiving red envelopes from Grandma and Grandpa, and best of all-watching the spectacular Chinese New Year’s parade! Introduce the customs of Chinese New Year to even the youngest readers with this festive new lift-the-flap book.

Long-long’s New Year: A Story About the Chinese Spring Festival by Catherine Gower
In this beautifully illustrated picture book, a little Chinese boy named Long-Long accompanies his grandfather into the city to sell cabbages in order to buy food and decorations for the New Year. However, selling cabbages is harder than Long-Long is ready for, so he goes off on myriad adventures in the hopes of finding a way to help his grandfather-and getting treats for his mother and little cousin.

Lanterns and Firecrackers: A Chinese New Year Story by Jonny Zucker
Here is a simple and delightful introduction to the festival of Chinese New Year—Suitable for even the very youngest child.Follow a family as they set off firecrackers, watch lion and dragon dances, and hang up lanterns to celebrate the start of their New Year 9from the back cover).

The Dragon New Year: A Chinese Legend by David Bouchard
From Library Journal-Grade 1-4. An original story that explains why the Chinese make noise and explode fireworks to celebrate a new year. The book begins in modern times, with a grandmother telling her granddaughter the reason for the commotion that frightens her on New Year’s Eve. In “olden days,” she says, people fled their village at the turn of the year, dreading the annual visit of a man-eating dragon named New Year. After watching the creature devour her fisherman son stranded at sea, a grieving old woman refuses to flee the following year. Offering hospitality to a mysterious stranger who turns out to be the Buddha, she is told how to use fire and noise to fend off the dragon. The wordy text is accompanied by large, flamboyant paintings reminiscent of oil works by European old masters, well composed and dramatic, but overpowering. In fact, the narrative seems contrived as a vehicle to showcase the art. An author’s note offers brief information on the Buddha, dragons in Chinese folklore, and traditional Chinese New Year customs. Not a first purchase. – Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams

Hiss! Pop! Boom!: Celebrating Chinese New Year by Tricia Morrissey
Hiss! and Pop! snap the firecrackers. Boom! says the drum to the Lion Dancer. Chinese New Year is here! Beautiful Chinese brush painting and elegant calligraphy illustrate each moment of the New Year celebration. Share the traditions with your child, and learn a few new things too!

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Oh, and by the way it’s the Year of the Rat. There are 12 animals in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, and the rat is the first in this series. Legend has it that all the animals concerned were in a race to cross a broad river. Displaying the canniness characteristic of its species, the rat rode on the back of an ox and jumped off to finish first. In China it is believed that those born in a Rat Year share the positive attributes of the animal. They are thus considered to be clever, ambitious, hard- working, quick and sociable.

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