While both holidays are but lightly sketched, themes of friendship and respect across cultures are compelling.
In Shanghai’s Hongkew district, two boys, one German-Jewish, one Chinese, share in the celebration of their two harvest holidays, Sukkot and the Moon Festival.
Having fled Berlin with his family in advance of the Holocaust, 10-year-old Marcus is trying to make the best of their exile in the crowded Jewish neighborhood that’s nestled in the bustling Chinese city. While most of his fellow yeshiva students keep to themselves, Marcus makes a new friend, Liang, bonding despite language and cultural differences. When autumn holidays approach, Marcus explains the tradition of building a sukkah, or traditional ceremonial hut, and happily accepts Liang’s offer of help in its construction, though he’s disappointed that the family’s poverty means they can’t use fruits and vegetables to decorate it. Seeing his friend’s sadness, Liang invites Marcus to experience the Moon Festival, with its colorful red lanterns, moon-shaped cookies, and games. Liang’s idea to decorate the sukkah with bright lanterns provides a welcome bridge between the two cultures. Tsong uses lithographs to create a layered, textured look, employing dark, drab hues to depict the poverty-stricken tenement district and vivid greens and red-orange tones for the sukkah and its lanterns. Hyde’s straightforward text assumes basic understanding of the Holocaust, focusing on Marcus’ experiences in Shanghai.
While both holidays are but lightly sketched, themes of friendship and respect across cultures are compelling. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-3474-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area.
A pair of cardinals is separated and then reunited when their tree home is moved to New York City to serve as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The male cardinal, Red, and his female partner, Lulu, enjoy their home in a huge evergreen tree located in the front yard of a small house in a pleasant neighborhood. When the tree is cut down and hauled away on a truck, Lulu is still inside the tree. Red follows the truck into the city but loses sight of it and gets lost. The birds are reunited when Red finds the tree transformed with colored lights and serving as the Christmas tree in a complex of city buildings. When the tree is removed after Christmas, the birds find a new home in a nearby park. Each following Christmas, the pair visit the new tree erected in the same location. Attractive illustrations effectively handle some difficult challenges of dimension and perspective and create a glowing, magical atmosphere for the snowy Christmas trees. The original owners of the tree are a multiracial family with two children; the father is African-American and the mother is white. The family is in the background in the early pages, reappearing again skating on the rink at Rockefeller Center with their tree in the background.
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7733-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Thoughtful and joyful.
A child of Vietnamese descent fantasizes about the perfect outfit for Tết.
One night, Mai dreams about being a big “STAAAAAAR” and fielding questions on the red carpet. Mai’s literal dream dress is a sparkly silver ballroom gown with a sweetheart cut. After waking up, the child is eager to tell Ba all about it, but first it’s time to get ready. It’s the first day of Tết, or Lunar New Year, and the family plans to celebrate at Mai’s grandmother’s house. Though Mai loves visiting Bà Nội, the child balks at donning the áo dài, a Vietnamese outfit consisting of a tunic worn over trousers. “Stars wear dresses and gowns,” Mai tells Ba. But Ba shows Mai the family photo album, explaining that Bà Nội had her own sewing school in Vietnam and that her students lovingly dubbed her the “Queen of Áo Dài.” To keep their traditions alive when the family emigrated, Bà Nội continued to make áo dài for her loved ones, and the children learned to sew them as an expression of love. Finally, with a newfound appreciation for the garment, Mai greets Bà Nội with a hug, clad in a customized áo dài made by Ba. Told entirely through naturally expressed and well-paced dialogue and accompanied by vividly textured illustrations, this is a loving tale of a family finding a creative way to reshape a beloved tradition.
Thoughtful and joyful. (glossary, “let’s design our own áo dài” activity) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665917346
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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