From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Jenny, who first appeared as an energetic big sister in
Henry's First-Moon Birthday (S & S, 2001), is back, participating in her uncle's nuptials. The child loves being his special girl and is having difficulty with the idea of sharing him with a new aunt. Look perfectly captures the child's envy and jealousy as the bride becomes the center of attention. As the family gathers to celebrate, readers learn about many of the traditions associated with the ceremony, including bargaining for the bride, wearing red for good luck, and bed-jumping. The busy day has a sweet resolution as Stella chooses Jenny to release a box full of butterflies and thanks her for sharing her uncle. The child responds with a hug and welcomes the bride into the family. Heo's child-inspired illustrations contribute to the story's strong appeal with lively colors, perspectives, and details that accentuate both Jenny's feelings and the wedding traditions. A delightful invitation to learn more about Chinese traditions.
–Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
*Starred Review* K-Gr. 2. Rituals, both solemn and fun, once again form a backdrop for universal emotions about family and change in this companion to
Henry's First-Moon Birthday (2001). Jenny's Chinese American family is attending the wedding of favorite cousin Peter, whose focus on the big day makes his possessive niece feel like "an umbrella turned inside out." Her sense of abandonment erupts in a stunt involving ceremonial tea leaves, but eventually it subsides through tender gestures from both bride and groom and the giddy excitement of participating. Among many kid-oriented activities, Jenny accompanies the groom to collect his red-silk-clad bride: "Two hundred years ago, he would carry her on his back. But today he is using his car." Such references to Chinese traditions emerge naturally throughout, as do allusions to what happens after the wedding (though the significance of things such as red-bean-and-tapioca "fertility soup" will puzzle most kids). Jenny's idiosyncratic voice is as distinctive as Heo's faux-naif mixed-media compositions, in which the artist's signature scatterings of patterns and symbols appropriately suggest the shower of rice (or, in this case, birdseed and butterflies) at a wedding's grand finale. For more on nuptial traditions, pull out Ellen Jackson's
Here Come the Brides! (1998) and Gary Soto's
Snapshots from the Wedding (1997).
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
