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!

2 comments about Angelina Ice Skates (Angelina Ballerina).

1. I fell in love with Angelina when I was young and the first book came out. I recently read Angelina Ice Skates and loved it as I did all the others. The Angelina books all teach a lesson, yet put the characters in situations that real children could end up in. In Angelina Ice Skates, Angelina and her friends are having trouble with some of the boys at the rink. Her mother gives her some advice and all works out in the end. The perfect length for a bedtime story, I would recommend this book for all children's libraries, especially little girls who want to be ballerinas.



2. In this next book in the Angelina Ballerina series, Angelina prepares for the New Year's Eve Ice Dance. It's a lovely pageant, but she repeatedly finds her practice interrupted by Spike and Sammy, two boys from the school. When she complains to her mother, Mrs. Mouseling explains that the two boys just want her attention. And so, Angelina forms a plan to include the two boys...

   Once again, I must say that Katherine Holabird sure knows how to write a wonderful story. I liked the lesson of the book, and my daughter and I both loved Helen Craig's illustrations. We highly recommend this book to you.

2 comments about Happy New Year, Everywhere.

1. From the Critics From School Library Journal Gr 2-5-Through interesting text and colorful, dynamic illustrations, this excellent offering briefly describes traditional New Year's celebrations and customs in 20 countries. The introduction explains that varying cultures observe different calendars and seasonal celebrations. Each spread highlights a different country, providing the dates of the observance; the name of the holiday; the traditional greeting (with a helpful pronunciation key); and a related game, recipe, song, or craft. Simple, colorful line drawings illustrate the projects and a world map pinpoints the location of each celebration. Festive side borders with stars and fireworks adorn each page. This title's particular strengths are the activities and the lengthy bibliography. A book that will greatly enhance research projects or study units.- Betsy Barnett, Eads School District, CO Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. From Children's Literature New Year's traditions vary around the globe. In this informational picture book, the author presents customs that may be unfamiliar to most Americans. Twenty countries are featured; each has a double-page spread that includes a small world map to identify its location. Some basic information is given at the beginning of each section-the date(s) on which the New Year is celebrated, the name for the New Year, and the pronunciation for a New Year greeting in the country's native language. Historical nuggets about each country and how it typically celebrates the New Year are contained in a short text. An accompanying activity is included for each country; these are simple and varied (traditional foods to make, crafts, games, and music). The illustrated instructions for each activity are easy to follow and require common supplies. This book is a very useful follow-up to an instructional unit about New Year's celebrations around the world. 2000, The Millbrook Press. Ages 4 to 10. Reviewer: Carol Lynch



2. It's difficult to review a title I STILL haven't received!
   A Happy New year book that arrives this late in Jan. is useless.......

No comments about Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Fong Family (Stories to Celebrate).

No comments about Happy New Year Boxed Holiday Cards.

No comments about Humor for the Holidays: Stories, Quips, and Quotes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

No comments about Our American Holidays: Their Meaning and Spirit.

No comments about Celebrate Chinese New Year (Celebrate Holidays).

1 comments about Chinese New Year Crafts (Fun Holiday Crafts Kids Can Do!).

1. If you are new to celebrating CNY or want to introduce the holiday to children who've never celebrated, then this book may point you in the right direction. If you are familiar with CNY, then these crafts aren't anything you wouldn't have thought of on your own.
   
   Includes very basic instructions for banners, paper fire crackers for holding candy, puppets, lanterns, noisemakers etc. The illustrations are good, and the materials are things that you would probably have around the house already.
   
   I'm always looking for good crafts to do with our cross-cultural family, but this book was just too basic.

5 comments about A Wild, Rank Place: One Year on Cape Cod.

1. David Gessner isn't your typical nature writer. Not simply content to give lip service to "birds and trees," Gessner enters the landscape as an animal, swilling and raging and chortling his way across Cape Cod with glee and guts. He isn't afraid to tackle tough material either: he receives news of his father's malignant carcinoma after, ironically, beating his own cancer successfully. In the face of such significant life issues, Gessner worries about place---his own as son and native to Cape Cod, and the strength of his writing voice in the shadow of his real and literary fathers. This book does for fathers and sons what Terry Tempest William's Refuge did for mothers and daughters. I found Gessner to be charmingly self-absorbed: he allows the reader to view him ("the thing itself") and his landscape, warts and all. And just when some might dismiss him as another Abbey-wanabee who goes about the motions of outrage for outrage's sake, Gessner shows his talent and unique writing strength: he writes movingly and memorably about his own father's death in a stunning journal section simply titled, June. The last sections of the book are a Hymn---for Gessner's father, for the place of his birth, for life. In the end, Gessner shows how grace and real beauty rise from fiercely loving ALL the parts of the world, even the ones which pain us most.



2. An inspiring narrative about a young man who survives cancer, only to watch his father be taken by the same disease. In the tradition of Beston and Thoreau, Gessner brings the Cape to life in all its seasons. But this book should not be tied to one place: readers from all over the globe will identify with Gessner, his family, and his love of home. A Wild, Rank Place is a very special book. You'll be glad you read it.



3. Mr. Gessner has created a powerful memoir of his childhood on Cape Cod, the loss of his father and his love for the harsh Cape environment that is emblematic of personal struggles Gessner has faced and, with humor and intelligence, ultimately overcome. A thoughtful and thought-provoking work from a promising young author.



4. I found this book a disappointment because the author allowed his personal issues and problems (e.g. family problems, illness, drug use) to interfere with the picture he was trying to paint. Henry Beston's THE OUTERMOST HOUSE, A YEAR OF LIFE ON THE GREAT BEACH OF CAPE COD, is much more to my liking, because of the beautiful prose and the full concentration of Mr. Beston on the topic at hand (i.e. the Cape, its history, its beauty, its wildness). I find it incongruous for this author, David Gessner, to make the effort to get in touch with nature by living out in the wilds by the ocean, and then to take the unnatural step of using drugs while doing so. It offends my senses almost as much as do the actions of people who play boomboxes at the beach while supposedly enjoying nature. I guess I like my nature natural and without the distractions of these other modern day intrusions. And I like my information and insights gleaned from my readings to be based on reality not drug induced fantasy. These personal issues (which in another context, might have been appropriately raised and interesting) seemed only to be undesired distractions in this context.



5. I had the pleasure of meeting Gessner at a bookstore he made an appearance at. I bought two of his books, "Wild Rank.." and "Return of the Osprey." I was almost unable to put down "Wild Rank." It was so moving...so touching...so brilliantly honest, I kept the pages open as I did mundane things so I could peek over occassionally and be mesmerized by his essay. The book is a mix of so many things -- there's a little "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in his brutal honesty. Then there's a little Thoreau when he briefs us on what the marshes and the "Suet" mean to him. This book is a must read for anyone who understands or wants to understand that life on life's terms is the only way we can exist -- and one of life's terms is that we take care of the land. Another of those terms is that our parents, for whatever faults they have, shape us in ways we can neither forget nor sometimes identify. David, I'm so glad I met you -- the book has been one of those wonderful surprises in life that change you a little bit when you encounter them. Kudos!