Bringing In the New Year

"Lantern and Firecrackers: A Chinese New Year Story" by Jonny Zucker has a better story but fewer details and Mandarin words than "Bringing in the New Year" by Grace Lin.

This is a great book to learn some traditions in the Chineses New Year. It explains the customs that need to happen in order the new year to be happy, healthy and prosperous. The pictures are full of colors and easy to distiquish what is happening.

This delightful board book introduces a Chinese family and their activities to bring in the new year, culminating in the dragon parade. The text is relatively simple and introduces several key customs of the holiday without being overly didactic but rather letting them flow smoothly into the story

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of the family preparing for the new year. The book ends with a factual description of the holiday and elucidates some of the family's actions in the story by explaining the meaning behind the customs. Throughout the book, the bright and cheery illustrations are eye-catching and help to expand on the story. The toddlers in my class were especially compelled by the pictures and pointed out details like the snow or asked questions about things they didn't recognize.

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I liked this story. I liked that the illustrations go along with the words. The quote “Jie Jie sweeps the old year out of the house” showed Jie Jie literally taking a broom and sweeping out of the house. I also liked the multicultural language in this book because it introduced unique names

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like Jie Jie, Ba Ba, and Ma Ma. The main idea of this story is that each culture has a different and unique way of bringing in the New Year.

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I liked this book a lot for a few reasons. First, because I did not know much about the Chinese New Year, so it was interesting to learn about a different cultures holiday. I also really enjoyed the illustrations because they were very colorful and detailed. The picture of the lion that is used to

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“scare away last years bad luck” was so colorful that it really stood out to me. I also really enjoyed the plot of the book because throughout it, different ways of celebration were shown. From making dumplings, using firecrackers, lighting lanterns, so many traditions are done that I enjoyed learning about. I think the overall message of this book is just to teach different cultures in a simple way about the Chinese New Year. The book did a great job of showing customs and traditions done during this holiday as well as helpful illustrations in order for readers from a different culture to see how the New Year can be celebrated in another culture.

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I liked the book, Brining in the New Year, by Grace Lin. The big idea in this book is the explanation of the traditional Chinese New Year customs. The author did a good job keeping the words simple for a young reader. I never knew much about the Chinese New Year, but this book was short and sweet

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and described the many traditions that the Chinese have as they welcome the New Year. I learned that the Chinese sweep out their homes to get rid of the “old year.” They also hang “spring-happiness poems” from their homes. The lanterns are used to light the way for the New Year as the ornamental dragon is awoken to scare away the past year’s “bad luck.” The illustrations were also eye catching. The pictures show a lot of traditional Chinese red colors. The costumes that the people wear for the New Year are full of vibrant spring-like color. The reader can tell, by the looks on the characters’ faces, that this a happy time for the Chinese people and a fun celebration.

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The title for this book explains it all. A wonderful book about the Chinese cultures for the New Year celebration. The text is simple for all ages to understand and the pictures are colorful. This book gives a great example of a Chinese family who live in America but still practice their traditions

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and customs.

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Summary:
The book was about a Chinese family that is getting ready for their New Year party. Ba-ba works hard to put up the decorations and Ma-ma makes the dumplings. Everyone dresses up for the party and when midnight strikes, fire crackers blast in the sky. The adults bring in a lion (someone

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under lion costume) to scare away the last year's bad luck and even scared little Mei-Mei. The children carry lanterns to guide the New Year. Some people walk around carrying a huge dragon puppet while other's sing and play instruments. Everyone looks happy and seems to be enjoying the New Year.
Personal Reaction:
I bought this book because I want it to be part of my book collection when I have my classroom. It's a great book and it shares details of the Chinese tradition for New Year's. The book has simple words that are in Chinese like Ba-ba (father) that young readers can read. The illustrations are very colorful and show the traditional props that are used in the Chinese culture. I also like this book because it shows all kinds of people not just Asian. The end of the book has a summary about Chinese New Year and how they prepare for it. It talks about traditions, food and the purpose of the lion and the dragon. I hope my students' will enjoy the book and realize that there are many cultures with traditions but can be celebrated by everyone.
Classroom Extension Ideas:
1.Unit plan on culture awareness.
2. Art activities making dragons puppets.
3. Students' can write narrative about their New Year's traditions.

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Bringing in the New Year is a story about Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year differs from the American New Year in that it is based on the lunar calendar. This story goes into the customs and traditions that are involved in preparing for Chinese New Year. Children need to be aware that different

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cultures celebrate different traditions unique to them, and this story helps to do so. It depicts a girl sweeping the old year out of the house, hanging the spring-happiness poems, watching firecrackers, and making a traditional dragon. Children need to be informed about different traditions among cultures and I think it is important that they are taught in school. I feel that this book could go into greater detail about the traditions as opposed to just mentioning them. As an activity, students could re create some of the traditions of the Chinese New Year by making lanterns or coming up with a dragon dance.

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In a brightly colored board book, perfect for the youngest child, Newbery Honoree Grace Lin tells the tale of a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each family member lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it's

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time to celebrate. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade at the end!Lin's bold and gloriously patterned artwork makes for an unforgettable holiday tale. Her story is simple and tailor-made for reading aloud to young children, and she includes an informative author's note for parents, teachers and children who want to learn even more.

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Join this Chinese American families as they prepare for the New Year: everyone lends a hand to sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it's time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining

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lanterns and a great, long dragon parade. What better way to bring in the New Year?

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A loving family celebrates Chinese (or Lunar) New Year in this brightly-illustrated picture-book from author/artist Grace Lin. As Jie-jie sweeps the doorstep and Ba-ba hangs up spring-happiness poems, the entire family gets into the spirit, welcoming in the new year with joy and festivity...

Pairing

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a simple text - no more than a sentence or two per page - with colorful gouache illustrations, Bringing in the New Year is a pleasing picture-book celebration of this important moment in the Chinese year. Like Lin's Dim Sum for Everyone!, which I have also read, it seems aimed at younger, preschool children, perhaps ages two through five, and introduces many customs and objects associated with Chinese New Year. I do feel, much as I did with Dim Sum for Everyone!, that it would have been nice to specify what words like Jie-jie (older sister) and Mei-mei (younger sister) mean, but leaving that aside, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers seeking simple but appealing Chinese/Lunar New Year titles.

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