A sweet introduction to a significant Chinese tradition, glimpsed through the eyes of a loving family.
A family observes the Chinese holiday of Qing Ming, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day.
The young narrator notes that today the family will be visiting Yeh Yeh’s (Grandfather’s) grave. The child’s memories of Yeh Yeh are floating away, and the little one frets: “I close my eyes and see Yeh Yeh’s face…But I have trouble remembering the sound of his laugh.” And the child remembers painting calligraphy with Yeh Yeh but struggles to recall “how his hand steered mine.” But, as Mama and Baba point out, visiting the gravesites of loved ones helps keep their memories alive. Arriving at the cemetery, the family sweeps leaves and weeds from the grave, puts out Yeh Yeh’s favorite foods, lights incense, and prays. The child tells Yeh Yeh about highlights from the family’s year (“Mama’s art is famous!” “And I’m starring in the school play!”). Wen’s soft, colorful gouache, pencil, and brush pen illustrations include a glowing figure of Yeh Yeh floating from the tombstone to enjoy the family’s offerings and stories. When the family burns joss paper, the protagonist also includes a few drawings of things that Yeh Yeh might enjoy in the afterlife, like a bicycle and a calligraphy brush. With this warm story, Liao highlights the love between a grandparent and grandchild while also clearly explaining a major Chinese holiday that gets little attention in the West.
A sweet introduction to a significant Chinese tradition, glimpsed through the eyes of a loving family. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780593806975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
