2 comments about Cecil's New Year's Eve Tail.

1. What a wonderful book to share with children during the holidays! There are so few books out there that cover New Year's as a holiday, and Cecil's Tail, is one you'll love to add to your library.
   
   Cecil lives in Manhattan, and is a highly respected citizen. His family was wealthy and well thought of in England. The Queen even knighted his grandfather for his services to the court. But one day, Cecil finds himself an outcast among his peers when he receives an invitation to a New Year's Eve Ball. All the guests are asked to wear their finest things and patent leather dancing shoes. Cecil is beside himself because he doesn't own a pair of patent leather dancing shoes. Why doesn't he just buy a pair? This is easier said than done. You see, Cecil is a Snake!
   
   Cecil's New Year's Eve Tail is the second book in Marie Fritz Perry's career that she has written and illustrated. The illustrations are done in wonderful watercolor, ink, and colored pencil - all of which bring the story to life. Perry's also done a wonderful job wrapping us with her words about the craziness of finding the perfect outfit for a party, wanting to hide from our problems, and reminding us that our friends like us no matter who we are.
   
   Stories for Children Editor, VS Grenier



2. Set on the east side of Manhattan, Cecil's New Year's Eve Tail is a children's picturebook following Cecil the wealthy and well-dressed snake. Though Cecil carries himself with impeccable poise, he is distressed that the human world seems to reject him. Just as he is on the verge of giving up, his friends remind him to take part in their holiday celebration - and Cecil learns that fitting in the human world is not as important as being oneself in the company of true friends. A glossary of words that may be unfamiliar to young people rounds out this kindly holiday tale, featuring simple color illustrations of a snake who tries to dress like humans.

No comments about New England's Special Places: Easy Outings to Historic Villages, Working Museums, Presidential Homes, Castles, and Other Year-Round Attractions.

1 comments about Long-Long's New Year: A Story About the Chinese Spring Festival.

1. This is the story of a little boy who goes with his grandfather to town to sell their produce and, with the funds from the sales, purchase goodies for the the Spring Festival (Chinese new Year). It's a nice little story, but the highlight of the book is the illustrations, which are WONDERFUL. We recently returned from a trip to China, and the illustrations remind me so much of the sights and sounds I experienced there: the bikes laiden with packages, families traveling by scooters, the numerous and diverse small shops or stalls along the streets, and folks picking over foodstuffs for use in their cooking. Just a fabulous reminder of the China just a block or two beyond the hotels catering to western tourists.

No comments about RALLY! A Year's Supply of Fun! (Ghostwriter Series).

1 comments about New Year's Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays).

1. Tried to read this to my kindergarten class. Eyes glossed over. No one was really paying attention. It has nice pictures but the book is small so the pictures are small. The information is good but it doesn't grab 5 year olds' attention!

No comments about New Year's Day (True Books).

4 comments about Celebrating Chinese New Year.

1. I purchased this book when my son's first grade teacher asked me to come and and talk to the class about the Chinese New Year. This book was perfect first of all because of its bright and bold color photos. By following a young Chinese boy living in San Francisco's Chinatown you learn how a typical contemporary Chinese family prepares for and celebrates the Chinese New Year. The topics include the special Chinese foods eaten on this day and their symbolism, paying respect to ancestors, Chinese calligraphic decorations, animals of the Chinese zodiac, and of course the lion dance and New Year parade. Children will be especially fascinated by all the splendid and exotic foods listed in the family's New Year's menu. This is a wonderful book to introduce children and adults alike to the traditions and customs of the Chinese New Year.



2. This has got to be my favorite books about the Chinese New Year! The book follows a young boy and his family as their prepare for the Chinese New Year. There is so much terrific information, it's simply amazing that the author was able to do this! The photographs are absolutely stunning! A must have book!



3. This is an excellent book for children of all racial descents.
   My granddaughter is part-Chinese and while we live in Hawaii rather than in San Francisco where the story takes place, we still follow many of the customs shown in the book. It's important for our children to learn about their cultures and traditions passed down through generations.



4. This book is best for children with 2nd grade or above reading skills, in my opinion. The photographs are wonderful and the information provided is very detailed and helpful for gaining knowledge of this cultural event. A wonderful book!

3 comments about The Nature of Vermont: A Year-Long Photographic Journal.

1. David Middleton is a great photographer\author, I have read all his books. he captures the beauty of vermont in this book.



2. David is a genius and his latest book is breathtaking. If you enjoy the backroads of Vermont, you'll love this book.



3. This book disappointed me. The book contains a lot of wildlife pictures and lot of great close-ups (They are absolutely great). But it does not have a lot about the scenic beauty of Vermont. And the landscape photos are not as great as the close-ups or wildlife. And its expensive.
   
   I loved the author's other book The Photographers Guide to Vermont.

3 comments about Chinese New Year's Dragon.

1. This book contained very good general information for kids about Chinese New Year; however, it was written in a very choppy style and the ideas also did not flow from one to the next. Within the general information about the young girl's preparation and celebration was a brief one to two page story about flying on a dragon and seeing Chinese New Year in ancient times. This story was too short and really didn't say anything about how the celebrations might have differed; however, connecting current celebrations to ancient times was a nice idea. ...



2. She took it to bed to read to herself the other night. If you were doing Ch. New Year with a KG - 5th class, you could use the book, but only read selected paragraphs All the important bits of the celebration are there.



3. This is Chinese New Year as I know it. This book is 15 years old, so I was prepared to find it dated in both art and flow. Instead I found myself utterly drawn in, instantly comfortable with the way the people and their home and environments were rendered. Clothing and hair styles, home furnishings, food drawings--everything is spot on, plus, there's this education flavor to the drawings that makes me nostalgic for . . . my old Saturday morning Chinese school books? The text works great for me, too. The device of sharing so much information about usual Chinese New Year traditions via the opener "Just like any other year . . ." on every page, while we wait to hear what was different about THIS year, really drew me in.
   
   The moment of dragon-riding fantasy is breathtaking.
   
   So why am I giving this only 4 stars instead of 5? Well, it's crazy, but as much as I love this book and am getting it for myself, I'm still not sure this would be the first Chinese New Year book I'd give my FRIENDS' kids, these days, and that's my test for what gets 5 stars. I'm almost suspicious this book is TOO perfect for me, and that my friends' kids (the ones being born now) wouldn't relate the same way.
   
   I could be wrong. I'm going to show it around and see what others think. I could just be in denial my friends and I have become our parents.
   
   This book is wonderful.

3 comments about Celebrating Norouz (Persian New Year).

1. This book ended my desperate search for material to present to my kids'
   schools about Norooz! Ever since my first child started pre-school (he
   is 8 now and in 3rd grade), I have been looking for a good book to
   introduce Norooz to his classmates. Every year, I have done my
   improvisation of what I thought was the best language for kids to
   follow. But needless to say, my presentations would go way over their
   head, and I could see that they were anxious for me to pass the goodies
   around!! Last year, I ordered a video called "bachehaye Bahar". It was
   supposed to have a description of Norooz in English as well. It was yet
   another disappointment. Besides the very bad quality of filming and
   sound, the whole thing was in Farsi!

   In this book, Yassaman talks about Norooz very eloquently from a child's
   perspective who is born and raised here in the US (San Jose). Both my
   kids, 6 and 8 enjoyed the book and now for the first time, I finally
   have a book to share with their class about Norooz! I highly recommend
   it to all parents with young children.




2. The book is well written and simple. Perfect for little ones who have a short attention span and love colorful pictures. The book is perfect to read to a pre-school class. The activities in the back of the book were also a hit with my 4 year old. Also a perfect gift for youngsters, your pre-school and local library.



3. My children attend the local Montessori program. I bought two copies of the book, one for them at home and one for their school. Before the new year I donated the book along with a small Sabzeh (sprouts grown for Persian New Year) to the classroom library. Their teacher loved it and read the book aloud for other children.
   I read this and all other books in Farsi for my children, so I wish the author had provided the Farsi translation as well. They are at an age now that can distinguish Farsi script from English, and wonder how or why I am reading an English book in Farsi!