I Love Lunar New Year

As Lunar New Year approaches, young narrator Mai-Anne helps to clean and decorate, “making our home festive and cheerful.” Wong Nava’s straightforward prose explains how the family hangs red lanterns “for happiness,” places green bamboo and pink cherry blossoms around “for health,” and sets out a plate of eight tangerines “for good wishes.” When Mai-Anne’s nai nai arrives on the holiday’s eve, the family enjoys Reunion Dinner (“fish for lots of good luck... noodles for a long life”) before Nai Nai tells the story of the Great Race, “a folktale of why each lunar year is represented by a different animal,” interspersing the account with comparisons between the animals and the family members (“My little Mai-Anne, you are Monkey—agile and intelligent”). Colored pencil–like strokes from Li portray domestic particulars as well as the animals of lore throughout this heartwarming holiday introduction. Facts about the holiday conclude. Ages 4–6. (Nov.)