Breathe in that fresh salty air and come along for some summertime fun!
I’m positively giddy that Kelly Ramsdell Fineman’s very first picture book, At the Boardwalk (illustrated by Mónica Armiño and published by Tiger Tales), is officially out today. WooHoo!!
*cartwheels, backflips, crazy dazy somersaults*
The reason I’m so happy is that Kelly was one of the first LiveJournal friends I met online when I started blogging about five years ago. I was impressed by her brilliant, witty, insightful reviews and interviews, candid musings about writing and life in general, enlightening explications of classic poems, and month-long Shakespeare and Jane Austen love fests, for which she is known far and wide.
Only Kelly could wax poetic about Wordsworth one moment, then talk about garden gnomes gone wild the next. I’d taken to calling her,”abnormal,” since I didn’t know anyone else who could read as fast, retain so many details, and then instantly offer stunning, eloquent commentary while brandishing an épée and singing along to her brainradio precisely on key. She once remarked how she looked forward to the day when it would finally be her name spelled out in alphabet pasta in her very own celebration soup.
While there are quite a few books describing the many wonderful cultural traditions associated with Chinese New Year, none of them so thoroughly tugs at my heartstrings like A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong and Zhu Cheng-Liang (Candlewick, 2011).
This luminous, poignant story opens with mother and child welcoming father home. They only see him during Chinese New Year since he works far away. At first, little Maomao is understandably wary of the prickly bearded stranger, but after a haircut he looks “more like Papa the way he used to be.”
They treasure every precious moment spent together, doing ordinary fix-ups around the house and participating in holiday activities (making sticky rice balls, visiting friends, watching the dragon dance on Main Street). Thrilled when she gets the lucky fortune coin her dad had tucked into one of the rice balls, Maomao is later devastated when she loses it playing in the snow. The coin, now a symbol of their singular bond and a treasured token of their reunion, eventually turns up. Time to say goodbye comes much too soon; Maomao places the coin in her father’s large palm, a parting gift laced with her with sweet anticipation for next year’s visit.
It’s easy to see why this book earned the prestigious Feng ZiKai Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award and was cited by the New York Times Book Review as one of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2011. Zhu Cheng-Liang’s beautifully evocative, color saturated gouache paintings are by turns joyous, poignant, playful, and endearing.
Interesting details provide a glimpse of lifestyle and customs in Maomao’s part of the world, and the artist’s brilliant use of red accents in every spread creates continuity and harmony. A symbol of happiness and good fortune, red is a character all its own, a vibrant heartbeat enlivening this timeless celebration. Telling body language, especially in the father-daughter spreads, effectively renders an emotional mélange ranging from unabashed joy to a restrained but fully palpable sorrow.
Apparently there are approximately 100 million migrant workers in China who return home only once a year during New Year’s. Transit systems make special provisions to accommodate this, the largest annual migration in the world, several weeks preceding New Year’s Eve. It is also believed there are more interurban trips made during this time than the entire population in China.
A New Year’s Reunion is definitely one of my all-time favorite books about Chinese New Year, a classic that should be in every home and school library to be savored again and again. Readers will likely gain a newfound appreciation for the family gatherings they take for granted and the luxury of having their loved ones close by throughout the year. I also see this story resonating with military families who must endure lengthy separations. Highly recommend this lovely, lovely book!
A NEW YEAR’S REUNION written by Yu Li-Qiong illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang first published in 2008 by Hsin Yi Publications, Taiwan first American edition published by Candlewick Press, 2011 Full Color Picture Book for ages 3+, 40 pp. Cool themes: Lunar New Year, families, multicultural celebrations, China, social studies
How nice of you to arrive so well groomed! Pink-tongued, tail-wagging, perky-eared guests are especially welcome at our table. No need to sit up and beg!
But brace yourself. Believe it or not, there are a few misguided folks in this world who think “feast” does not mix with “fur”.
Take Alberto, for example, the nattily dressed owner of the City Lights Restaurant in Linda Ashman’s heartwarming new picture book. When he sees a boy approaching his café with a St. Bernard, he changes the “Welcome” on his chalkboard sign to “No Dogs Allowed.” Harumph!
I’m twirling myself silly with delight over this brand new picture book by Boni Ashburn and Julia Denos. It made me wonder if Boni and Julia ever had a favorite dress. More on that in a bit, but for now, let’s try this charming story on for size.
Here’s a girl who love love loves her salmon-colored, striped-bodice, ruffly-skirt dress, wearing it every single Tuesday, her favorite day of the week. But one day, her favoritest dress ever is just too short and she’s beside herself. Mama comes to the rescue, advising that instead of making mountains out of molehills, she make molehills out of mountains. So, with a “SNIP, SNIP, sew sew” — it’s “New shirt, hello!”
Thus begins a series of clever, wholly satisfying transformations. When the shirt becomes too tight, Mama turns it into a tank top, then a more school-appropriate skirt, a tassely scarf for winter, a pair of cozy socks, and a pretty hair bow. And what happens when puppy shreds the bow into teeny tiny scraps? The girl creates something all by herself that enables her to wear her favoritest dress “every day of every season of every year.” Brilliant! Continue reading →
The reason I’m so happy is that Kelly was one of the first LiveJournal friends I met online when I started blogging about five years ago. I was impressed by her brilliant, witty, insightful reviews and interviews, candid musings about writing and life in general, enlightening explications of classic poems, and month-long Shakespeare and Jane Austen love fests, for which she is known far and wide.
Jama's Alphabet Soup 