Celebrating Chinese New Year
Written by Fay Robinson
A visually stimulating guide to Chinese New Year that explains the history and the symbols of the holiday. The dragon parade is an important part of the celebration and many towns and cities have parades, but New York, Chicago and San Francisco are highlighted because their parades are quite large. Dragons symbolize good luck. The Chinese New Year is tied to the lunar calendar, celebrating the end of one planting season and the beginning of another. People eat special food that also have symbolic meanings, they carry lit lanterns to chase away the old year and light firecrackers to scare away the monsters that bring bad luck. The New Year is also a time to clean house, get hair cut, put out flowers, pay off debts and make special cakes. New Year’s Eve is a family time and children are encouraged to stay awake as long as possible. Chinese New Year is all about making a fresh start!
Celebrating Chinese New Year is a lively overview of the holiday. This would make a good script for reader’s theatre and allow a parade of New Year’s festivities as a literacy activity. The photographs are sure to hold a fourth grader’s attention. The book includes a craft project, a glossary, a list of further readings and internet sites. The table of contents and index make this a good research tool. The glossary could be a worksheet by itself. Other titles in the series include Cinco de Mayo, Columbus Day and Earth Day, among others.
TITLE: Celebrating Chinese New Year- AUTHOR: Fay Robinson
- ILLUSTRATOR: Various photographers
- PUBLISHER: Enslow, 2012
- REVIEWER: Risa Brown
- EDITION: Paperback, 48 p.
- ISBN: 978-1-59845-398-0
- LEXILE: 850
