A New Year's Reunion: A Chinese Story

by Li-Qiong Yu

Other authorsCheng-Liang Zhu (Illustrator)

Paperback, 2013

Description

Little Maomao's father works in faraway places and comes home just once a year, for Chinese New Year. At first Maomao barely recognizes him, but before long the family is happily making sticky rice balls, listening to firecrackers, and watching the dragon dance in the streets below. Papa gets a haircut, makes repairs to the house, and hides a lucky coin for Maomao to find. Which she does! But all too soon it is time for Papa to go away again.

Publication

Candlewick (2013), Edition: Illustrated, 40 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member shazzerwise

Beautiful illustrations mark this charming holiday story about a little girl and her father whom she only sees once a year, on Chinese New Year. This would make an wonderful pair with The Runaway Wok for a Chinese New Year story time.

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LibraryThing member dukefan86

Majorly sweet story here, with beautiful illustrations! Wow. Enjoyed learning a little more about Chinese New Year traditions, too.

LibraryThing member alyson

A feel good read for kids and adults. Loved the illustrations

LibraryThing member panfeng1115

The plot takes place in the south of China. The little girl in the story has a father who only comes home once a year because he works in a far away place. When the father comes home they have a big celebration. They make sticky rice balls at her house and put a coin inside of one of them. At

dinner, the little girl finds it as she is eating the rice ball, which means she will have good luck for the next whole year. At the end of the story, the little girl gives her good luck coin to her father, as he leaves for work again.

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LibraryThing member krystalramirez

Summary: Maomao and her mother wake up early one morning because her father, who works far away from home and only comes home once a year,is coming home for Chinese New Year. She seems scared of him at first but warms up to him. He gives her a new hat and takes her every where with him. He spends

all his time with her. She gets the special rice ball with a quarter papa has hidden inside and keeps it in her coat because it brings good luck. She gives it to her dad at the end because it was special to her and she wants him to have it to help him remember her while he is away working.

Personal Reaction: This was a good book. It makes me think about the way children feel about their parents how they can miss them but when they haven't seen for a while can also be scared of them for a moment. Also how sweet children can be giving up something so special to them to help others.

Classroom Extensions:
1.) The class can make rice balls and place a coin in one and see who gets the lucky coin.
2.) We could make Chinese lanterns as an art project.

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LibraryThing member bnlmoore

Great multicultural book that takes place in south China. The main character in this book is a little girl who’s father is able to only come home once per year because he works far away. When her father comes home they have a big celebration as a family filled with family traditions and

traditions of the Chinese culture. They make sticky rice balls and put coins inside of them. Which ever rice ball has the coin gives the person who is eating it good luck for the next year. The little girl ends up eating the rice ball with the coin, and gives it to her father when he has to leave again for a year. Such a cute, loving, traditional, multicultural story.

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LibraryThing member Sullywriter

A poignant, beauitfully illustrated family story from China.

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Originally published in China as 团圆 - transliterated as tuányuán, it literally means "to have/having a reunion" - this award-winning picture-book features a poignant family tale from author Li Qiong Yu, and beautiful gouache illustrations from artist Zhu Chen Liang, both of whom reside in

Nanjing. It is the story of Maomao, a little girl who, together with her mother, awaits the annual return of the father and husband of the family, a migrant construction worker whose job takes him far from home, and permits only a brief reunion at (Chinese) New Year's. Startled at first, when her father appears as a strange man, with an unfamiliar and prickly beard, Maomao is gradually won over, enjoying the holiday observances with both her parents, and building a bond of love and trust with the man who, in a few short days, will have to leave again...

There were moments, reading A New Year's Reunion on my train-ride this morning, that I found myself very close to tears. In particular, the scene in which Maomao, bidding her father farewell, offers him her lucky fortune coin, and he becomes very quiet, had a sharp poignancy that was very moving. The brief afterword, in which the author mentions that there are 100 million migrant workers in China - 100 million! - really drives home the fact that, for many families in our world, just being together is a precious (and rare) blessing. The artwork, with its vibrant colors and folk-motif composition, is intensely appealing, by turns adorable - I love Maomao's little white cat! - and sad. It's easy to see why this was chosen as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2011!

All in all, this was an outstanding picture-book - one with a strong story and gorgeous artwork! I'm glad that it was chosen as one of our May selections, over in The International Children's Book Club to which I belong, where we are trying to read kids' books from around the world. If this is a sample of the children's books being published in China, then we need more to be translated!

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LibraryThing member asomers

This is a welcome addition to the libraries, holiday book collection. The customs and traditions of Chinese New Year are provided in a wonderful family story. I just wish the author had explained why the father had to work so far from home and why he was away for most of the year.

LibraryThing member noah23

This is one of my favorite picture books that I have read so far. It is beautifully illustrated, has a fun and moving plot, as well as an opportunity to share a story from a different culture than ours here in the US.

LibraryThing member JenniferSaville

A New Year's reunion follows a Chinese family as they follow their New Year's traditions. The Chinese New Year is the only time that Maomoa's father gets to come home from his job, and she enjoys following him around their town and their home as he gets his hair cut, shops for new clothes, and

spruces up the house. The book elaborates on a few lesser-known Chinese New Year traditions, as well.

I thought the book was very informative, and unique in that it was a simple description of a family's days together. There was no particularly engaging story line or plot twist, and though that tended towards boredom at times, the story was short enough and simple enough to still retain its poignancy.

1. Involve parents/community in a Chinese culture day, where the kids get to experience different Chinese foods.
2. Have the kids write an essay, comparing and contrasting their winter holiday traditions with Maomao's.

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LibraryThing member Mchapp1

I enjoyed the story “A New Year’s Reunion” by Yu Li-Qiong for several reasons that include the colorful illustrations, the plot, and the real issues that the book touches on. Throughout the story the illustrator uses vibrant images to capture the spirit of the Chinese New Year, which greatly

enhances the story. There is also a strong presence of the color red in the illustrations, which is a very important color in the Chinese tradition. The plot is centered on a young girl’s excitement at her father’s arrival from working in far away places. She is overjoyed that “daddy is coming home”, but during his time home she realizes that his arrival is not permanent and that “daddy is leaving”. Li-Qiong also uses symbolism in the story to convey the conflict. In the story the little girl is given a lucky coin that her father hid in a treat for her. She loses the coin, but then finds it once again. This symbolizes her relationship with her father. He was once home with her and her mother, he leaves for work, but he returns home again. Just as the coin always returns to little girl so does the father. The book pushes readers to think about tough issues such as having a parent who is not always home and the emotions that a young child faces when they are unable to interact with their parent on a regular basis. The overall message of this story is that although family dynamics vary the love that the family has for each other transcends any distance that is between them.

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LibraryThing member pduste1

I enjoyed this book because of its illustrations and its lessons on traditions. The illustrations in the book are very colorful. In the book, there is a two-page spread of the "Dragon Dance" that was occurring in the town. The color made the celebration very real. The book also teaches about some

Chinese New Years traditions. For example, some children get little red envelopes that holds money or a small gift. The main idea of this book is New Year's celebrations.

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LibraryThing member athena.j

The genre of this book is realistic fiction. It tells the story of a family composed of a girl, a mother, and a father, who only comes home at New Year's. The girl is frightened of her father at first, because he needs a shave, but remembers him again after he pays a visit to the barber's. It tells

of the traditions and foods that the girl experiences during Chinese New Year. At the end of the book, she has to say goodbye to her father again, because he has to leave.

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LibraryThing member kkadal1

I enjoyed, "A New Year's Reunion", the central message of which was that love holds a family together, regardless of the distance that may exist among family members. I liked the book for its engaging plot, which told the story of a Chinese migrant worker who was reunited with his family for

Chinese New Year. I also liked the book's well-developed characters, which included a little girl, Maomao, and her mother and father. The characters were involved in a scenario in which many families containing migrant workers often find themselves (e.g., being separated for long periods of time, and being reunited briefly for holidays), thereby making the story believable. Finally, I liked that this book pushed readers to think about tough issues, such as family separation, and broadened perspectives on the topic. This book gave a face to the heartache with which many families are faced, but ultimately delivered the uplifting message that love, regardless of distance, holds a family together.

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LibraryThing member amanna2

This fictional story is about a young girl named Maomao who is very excited to see her father on Chinese New Year. He only comes home around this time of year and her time with him is very special. Together, they make rice balls and he buries a coin in one of them and tells Maomao it is good luck.

One day, Maomao thinks she loses her lucky coin and becomes very upset, but eventually she finds it. Maomao ends up giving her father the lucky coin for when he leaves. This story shows the bond of family during Chinese New Year and how it is a happy time for many. I really enjoyed the illustrations in this story because they capture the bright colors and vivid images that are associated with Chinese New Year. I also thought the end was very heartwarming when Maomao gives her dad the coin so he can think of her when he is away. Many young readers may be able to relate to this story because they might have a relative in their family who they only see very few times a year, and their time together is very special.

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LibraryThing member lbradf4

The Chinese New Year is the only time Mao-Mao sees her father. He is away building houses all year. Her father makes sticky rice balls, and one has a coin hidden in it. She spends as much time with her father as possible, helping him fix the house and repair the things that need it before he leaves

again. Before he leaves again, Mao-Mao gives her father a special gift.

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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian

A charming story about a working father's return to his family every Chinese New Year. There's a loving warmth throughout and a particularly touching illustration shows the mother turned away to wipe her face as she packs for her husband leaving again for work. But it never gets sentimental. Very

nice.

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