This Next New Year [Hardcover]

Janet S. Wong (Author), Yangsook Choi (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Celebrating the Chinese New Year

A young boy looks forward to Chinese New Year - also known as the Lunar New Year, the day of the first new moon. It is a time of hope, and you don't have to be Chinese to celebrate it! His best friend, Glenn, who is French and German, and his cousin Evelyn, part Hopi and part Mexican, like the food and the envelopes of money, while he celebrates the fresh start the day offers. He cleans the house to make room for luck, and is glad the palms of his hands itch - that means he is coming into money. Most of all, he vows not to say things such as "can't do / don't have / why me" because he has dreams he is ready to make come true. Janet S. Wong's spare, lyrical couplets voice a child's determination to face the new year with courage and optimism. Yangsook Choi captures the spirit of celebration in her vibrant, energetic pictures.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A spunky young boy makes plans for "this next new year" in Janet S. Wong's festive, truly engaging story of the Chinese Lunar New Year, celebrated annually in late January or early February. "And all day tomorrow, Lunar New Year's Day, I will not say one awful thing, none of that can't do/don't have/why me because this is it, a fresh start, my second chance, and I have so many dreams I'm ready now to make come true." So he flosses his teeth and helps his mom scrub the house "rough and raw so it can soak up good luck like an empty sponge," and plans to be brave when his family sets off firecrackers at midnight. The Chinese Korean boy tells us, in a funny, fresh, first-person voice, how his best friends, a German French boy and a Hopi Mexican girl, like to celebrate the Chinese New Year, too. Yangsook Choi's artfully composed, action-packed paintings add uplifting color to the happy spirit of the holiday, and an author's note provides more details about the Chinese New Year and Wong's childhood memories of the celebration. This delightful picture book makes a fine addition to the small collection of Chinese New Year books, distinguishing itself with the narrator's endearingly persistent quest for luck: "They say you are coming into money / when your palms itch, / and my palms have been itching for days. / My brother thinks it's warts, / but I know luck is coming." (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A Chinese-Korean boy relates how he and his friends celebrate the "lunar new year, the day of the first new moon." One child celebrates the holiday with "Thai food to go," while a non-Asian child likes to get "-red envelopes stuffed with money from her neighbor who came from Singapore." The narrator's mother cooks a special Korean soup, and his family observes the traditions of house cleaning, lighting firecrackers, and being extra good to ensure a lucky new year. Wong carefully and clearly presents the reasons behind the rituals in a manner understandable to young children. She explains in an appended note about her own confusion as a child about the timing and meaning of the holiday. Choi's vibrant, somewhat primitive paintings realistically capture the details of and preparations for this hopeful time of year. Youngsters will enjoy the bright colors and the sense of motion and activity conveyed as the boy helps his mother clean, flosses his teeth, and cringes from the noise of the firecrackers. A good choice for anyone getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Frances Foster Books - Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374355037
• ISBN-13: 978-0374355036
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Janet S. Wong (www.janetwong.com) is an award-winning author of 23 books for young readers and teens. One of the most distinctive things about her body of work is its variety: from picture books about family (THE TRIP BACK HOME, BUZZ) to poetry books about yoga and driving (TWIST and BEHIND THE WHEEL) to chapter books about friendship (ME AND ROLLY MALOO, MINN AND JAKE) to a "Meet the Author" book about writing (BEFORE IT WRIGGLES AWAY). Her fans span the entire age range, from toddler to adult.

Janet Wong's latest projects are eBooks designed specifically for the Kindle. Janet is particularly excited about eBooks because of their affordability and also because they make poetry easy to find. "Poetry is buried in the 811 section of the library," Janet says, "where you're not likely to stumble on it. But you can type 'poetry' into your Kindle and dozens of titles (with free samples, even) will magically appear." Her first eBook is ONCE UPON A TIGER: New Beginnings for Endangered Animals, which features illustrated poems and nonfiction notes about familiar animals such as the tiger and also unusual creatures such as the axolotl. Her second eBook is a group effort, a forthcoming anthology called POETRY TAG TIME (to be available in April 2011) which she compiled with children's literature professor Sylvia Vardell. It features a connected chain of 30 poems by 30 of the best poets in the world.

When Janet Wong is not writing, speaking at teacher conferences, or sharing writing tips with children in schools, she spends most of her time trying to grow blueberries at her home in Princeton, NJ.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Delightful!, January 28, 2001

By 

Elizabeth McKinley (Madison, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Next New Year (Hardcover)

I read this beautifully illustrated book to my class of 25 preschoolers on Chinese New Year's day. They loved it! They could so identify with the young boy and his quest for good luck. One student exclaimed at the end of the book..."that's it, I'm going right home to clean my closet!" I overheard several children saying that their palms were itching. I have a very diverse group of children this year, from many countries, so this book really spoke to them.I highly reccommend it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasured book, April 29, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Next New Year (Hardcover)

I sent this to my grandson who is now living in Hong Kong and he loves it so much he sleeps with it. He is almost 3 and insists on having this read to him every night. I think it makes him feel more at home in this new place by incorporating the Chinese traditions that he experienced for the first time this year. Although I haven't read it, I can only comment on it from a child's point of view, and that should be a good barometer for other children.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite children's book, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: This Next New Year (Hardcover)

My 4-yr-old son has three shelves of children's books in his closet, and out of all them this is my favorite. The beautiful flow of the text makes it a joy to read every time!