The little boy discusses what Chinese New Year is, how people of varying cultures and heritages celebrate this holiday in their own way, and what he and his own family are actually doing to make this Chinese New Year the best year yet. Although this book teaches about the Chinese culture and holiday of Chinese New Year, I also think the little boy is a very positive influence on young readers. This aspect of the book may inspire young children to be a positive force in their own lives. Children can see him taking care of his environment and helping his parents around the house, and they can learn about the wonderful effects of healthy habits. Most importantly, I think a big theme of this book is the fact that no one has the power to make your life the best one yet except yourself. Any book that teaches others about a new culture while also inspiring children to practice positive, healthy habits is a win-win situation and an exceptional piece of literature, in my opinion. ( )

In my opinion this is a great book especially for younger children. The main character and point of view is a young Chinese American Boy who loves to celebrate the New Year and is very believable and well developed. For example, it says, “I don’t have the new clothes I need but I saved the cleanest ones I own for this big day and if everything works you can bet I will have new clothes soon.” This character is easy to relate to for the readers because young children love to believe in a lot of things, especially for the holidays. The writing and language of the story is paced well, organized, and flows perfectly while reading. The text is very engaging. For example, it says, “I will be brave.” This can allow the readers to interact with the text and to say how they would feel brave or what they might do if this were them. The illustrations enhance the story and fit the written text. For example, it says, Mother is sweeping last year’s dust into piles so big all I can figure is no wonder we’ve had so much trouble lately.” The picture that goes with this text is the young boy helping his mother sweep away all the dust. The message of this story is that if you believe anything good is possible, good things do happen especially with family. ( )

I thought this was a really nice and entertaining book. This book is a family as it prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year and looks forward to the good luck they hope it will bring. It's mostly about the young boy of the family as he gets himself ready to celebrate this Chinese New Year. I really liked how the writing of the book was organized and arranged. It starts off with the boy talking about his friends celebrate different new years because of their heritages. It talks about the American new year and the German new year. I thought that was very cool how it acknowledged how different cultures celebrate the same holiday but in different ways. I also really liked the illustrations of the book. The book illustrated children and people of different races. So many times books only depict white children so it's nice to see a wide range of races throughout the entire book. Finally, the point of view was one of a young boy. I think it's nice for children to see how a child of similar ages prepares for a new years celebration because it gives off a similar perspective. ( )

I love this book. It's about the Chinese New Year, or the lunar new year, and it emphasizes that anyone can celebrate this holiday, anyway you want. Throughout the story are children with different ethnicities celebrating the Chinese New Year in multiple ways.
For one, different Chinese traditions are shown throughout the story. An example is when the character says "This next new year is going to be good, the best year ever. I can feel it in my hand. They say you are coming into money when your palms itch," and shows a boy itching his hands with money all around him.
Although the book is describing a Chinese New Year, it explains that his friends also celebrate Chinese New Year, and they are French and German. This opens children's perspective on holidays, and helps them realize that although they're parents may be from different backgrounds, they can celebrate the same holiday.
The pictures in this book all represented main ideas of the story, with great detail and lots of colors. The different traditions explained had pictures with the text that described the text. On one page it explains that Evelyn is Hopi and part Mexican, but loves Chinese New Year because she likes to get red envelopes stuffed with money from her neighbors from Singapore. On the pages of the text, there are children holding red envelops, hugging each other, while one character is being handed the envelope by an elder women. The pictures help describe the different aspects of Chinese New Year to children who may not be exposed to different holidays and cultures, and they really help the reader understand the various ways to celebrate Chinese New Year. ( )

I have a high opinion of this book because it has great story line, vibrant illustrations, and cultural value. For me the strength of this book is in how the story is told. It is written in the point of view of the reader as if the reader is the one cleaning the room, eating the duk gook, and lighting the fireworks. This form of writing is appealing to me because it makes me feel as if I am experiencing all of the things in the book myself. The illustrations in the book were also great and followed well with the narration. ( )