Karen Katz introduces readers to the traditions and importance of this holiday in China with My First Chinese New Year. "Red means good luck and happiness in China" reads the text, as mother and child hang patterned red tissues for decoration. The girl narrator "sweep[s] away the bad luck from last year" with her younger sister and makes an altar "to honor our ancestors" with her grandfather, among other activities sure to inspire readers and their kin. The family enjoying a banquet and a colorful parade round out the fun. (Holt, $14.95 28p ages 2-6 ISBN 0-8050-7076-1; Dec.)
One way to commemorate the Chinese New Year would be to share Chinese Children's Favorite Stories by Mingmei Yip. Traditional tales such as "The Monkey King" sit alongside perhaps lesser known stories like "The Mouse Bride," which explains why Chinese children traditionally leave sesame, candy and corn under their beds as New Year's gifts for mice. Yip's paintings emulate classic Chinese silkscreen renderings, especially the serene nature images of "The Frog Who Lived in a Well." (Tuttle, $16.95 96p ages 6-10 ISBN 0-8048-3589-6; Dec.)
The famous white bunny celebrates in Miffy's Happy New Year!by Dick Bruna, based on a TV episode to air on December 27 on the Noggin network. Photographs of three-dimensional identical bunnies chronicle the last day of school before the holiday vacation, as Miffy and Melanie make invitations to a New Year's Day party. They tie the invites to helium balloons that go astray, but luckily they all wind up with the right guests, and all are welcome in Miffy's cozy home. (Big Tent, [212-576-2700], $3.99 paper 24p ages 1-6 ISBN 1-59226-233-3; Nov.)
Lee Bennett Hopkins gathers poems and milestone facts for every occasion in Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More, illus. by Stephen Alcorn. From Martin Luther King, Jr.'s brief biography, coupled with Nikki Grimes's poem, "A Question for Martin" in January, to a description of the little-known "Night of the Radishes" on December 23 (the tradition of carving sculptures from radishes in Oaxaca, Mexico), inspirationally paired with Karla Kuskin's "Write about a radish./ Too many people write about the moon...," Hopkins presents an array of versatile verse, both classic and contemporary. Christina Rosetti, Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes and Hopkins himself number among the other contributors. Alcorn's full-spread and spot illustrations with their fine ink line and watercolor wash, fluidly tie together poems old and new, airy and weighty. (HarperCollins/ Greenwillow, $17.99 112p ages 7-up ISBN 0-06-000765-6; Jan.)
All Aboard!
A smattering of board books introduce concepts and bring storybook favorites to youngest book lovers. In Am I Big or Little? by Margaret Park Bridges, illus. by Tracy Dickray, the title question so intrigues a spunky redheaded girl that she engages in a daylong dialectic about comparative sizes with her bemused mother. PW said of the hardcover edition, "The vivacious heroine, with her 200-watt grin, is appealing from head to toe, and authentically inexhaustible." (Chronicle, $6.95 28p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-8118-4572-9; Nov.)
Notable for the quiltlike compositions of a countryside in saturated blues and greens, Pamela Paparone's Five Little Ducks tells of a mother duck's quintet of ducklings who go off each day and whose numbers dwindle one by one. Luckily, when she goes out searching and "quacking" for them, they all return, seated at her table in a final image of this hand-size board book, also available in paperback. (North-South, $5.95 26p ages 1-up ISBN 0-7358-1857-6; paper $6.95 1-55858-700-4; Jan.)
You Are Special, Little One by Nancy Tafuri makes a smooth transition to board book. Cozy scenes set on savannah, ice floe and pond depict Mama and Papa lions, penguins, beavers and more telling their little ones the ways in which they're special. The closing scene depicts a human family in a loving embrace. (Scholastic, $7.99 15p ages 3-5 ISBN 0-439-68613-X; Jan.)
A trio of combination lift-the-flap and board book titles teach simple concepts with fiesta-bright, patterned artwork by Karen Katz in Baby's Box of Fun: Toes, Ears, and Nose! by Marion Dane Bauer tells what goes inside mittens, boots and hats, while Karen Katz's text and artwork create an interactive game of hide-and-seek in Where Is Baby's Mommy? and peek-a-boo for Where Is Baby's Belly Button? (Little Simon, $14.95 44p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-689-03862-3; Dec.)
Similarly showcasing Katz's artwork in a lift-the-flap format (this time with laminated rather than board book pages) for the paper-over-board A Potty for Me! The text takes the child's perspective ("I try my brand new potty. It kind of feels okay./ But I'm not ready yet. I want to go and play") through an accident and several other unproductive attempts until—success ("Yeah! I really did it! And now I know I can. I can go in my potty, and I will do it again!"). Brightly patterned clothes, tile and carpet make this an appealing household to visit. (Little Simon, $7.99 28p ages 1-5 ISBN 0-689-87423-5; Jan.)
With a spongy paper-over-board cover and board book pages, I Love You Through and Through by Rossetti-Shustak, illus. by Caroline Jayne Church, takes an unseen adult's perspective as he or she tells the spiky-haired blond boy pictured with his teddy bear all the things about him that are lovable: "I love your top side. I love your bottom side. I love your inside and outside." (Scholastic/Cartwheel, $8.95 24p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-439-67363-1; Jan.)
With an opening note that "children who understand sign language tend to have a stronger command of verbal skills," Teaching Your Baby to Sign by Lora Heller invites youngsters to learn 21 everyday words, from "baby" to "mommy" and "daddy" and "love." Each word appears above a photograph of a child demonstrating how to sign the word, along with a one-sentence description of the movement. (Sterling, $4.95 22p ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. ISBN 1-4027-1728-8; Jan.)
Tips for Teens
A handful of titles guide teenagers in areas of writing, manners and other complicated topics. Julius Lester, Newbery Honor author of To Be a Slave and a university professor, offers advice, On Writing for Children and Other People. The volume begins with a chronicle of Lester's early days, his first awareness of prejudice, then segues into an impassioned argument for the importance of stories, as a way of defining oneself and seeing the world, and gives tips to aspiring writers. (Dial, $16.99 160p ages 14-up ISBN 0-8037-2867-0; Nov.)
Emily Post's The Guide to Good Manners for Kids by Peggy Post and Cindy Post Senning (the coauthors are Emily Post's great-granddaughter-in-law and great-granddaughter) offers guidance even adults will appreciate, with age-old advice on attending weddings to contemporary etiquette on cell phone usage. The authors also suggest wording for invitations to a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah, and explain events such as confirmation and quinceanera ("a Latino girl's fifteenth birthday") and offer ideas for small get-togethers, such as a picnic or slumber party. Pen-and-inks by Steve Björkman liven up the proceedings. (HarperCollins, $15.99 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-06-057196-9; Nov.)
Two new entries in the Sunscreen paperback series address drugs and depression: Drugs Explained: The Real Deal on Alcohol, Pot, Ecstasy, and More by Pierre Mezinski with Melissa Daly and Françoise Taud, illus. by Redge; and When Life Stinks: How to Deal with Your Bad Moods, Blues, and Depression by Michel Piquemal with Melissa Daly, illus. by Olivier Tossan. As with the previous titles, the volumes present accessible text, often against pastel backgrounds to break up the pages, along with inviting full-page and spot illustrations. The narratives present both sides to often provocative issues (such as whether or not to legalize drugs), encouraging informed debate. (Abrams/ Amulet, $9.95 paper each 112p ages 10-14 ISBN 0-8109-4931-8; 0-8109-4932-6; Nov.)
Fashion Statements
For the inner clothes horse in every gal, Alison Bell offers Fearless Fashion, illus. by Jérôme Mireault, the debut book in the What's Your Style? series from Lobster Press. Beginning with a Cosmo-style quiz, this perfect-bound book, with handy flaps as pageholders, encourages aspiring fashionistas to take their score and determine whether they are "Gotta Be Me Girl" or "Sporty Babe" (among others). "Fashion 101" offers a quick history of dressing through the ages, followed by ideas to adapt looks from "preppy" to "punk," to make them uniquely one's own. (Lobster, $14.95 paper 64p ages 10-up ISBN 1-894222-86-5; Nov.)
William Wegman turns fashion on its ear with Batty the weimaraner raiding wardrobes everywhere in Dressup Batty. The savvy pooch possesses wigs of blond, brunette and auburn, a pom-pom purse and longhorn cowboy boots—just for starters. A fold-out postcard portfolio pictures her in a variety of settings, from the mountains of Switzerland to the casinos of Monte Carlo, and a press-out frame lets her admirers keep Batty close by. A pad "from the desk of Battina Del Ray" gives her fashion tips, and a pinwheel of purses label a variety of looks (e.g., "demure," "edgy"). A scratch-and-sniff spread lets readers choose a fragrance for the fashionable pooch. (Hyperion, $19.99 18p all ages ISBN 0-7868-1849-2; Nov.)
