Product Description

A Chinese American girl describes the festivities of her uncle's Chinese wedding and the customs behind them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #352390 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

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
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From Booklist
*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 Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Lenore Look is the author of Ruby Lu, Brave and True, an ALA Notable Book; Love As Strong As Ginger, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Stephen T. Johnson; and Henry's First-Moon Birthday, illustrated by Yumi Heo. She lives in Randolph, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Learn Chinese wedding customs
Jenny is worried she will no longer be Uncle Peter's number-one-girl. He is marrying her future Aunt Stella. Jenny learns the wedding is not a sad occasion but a happy one. Uncle Peter has room in his heart for Jenny and Aunt Stella.

Join Jenny and witness many Chinese wedding traditions. Why does the bride wear red? What is the significance of the color red? Why are people jumping on the candy covered bed? These questions and many more are answered in this delightful story.

Fun reading for 5 year old!
My 5 year old daughter loves to have me read this book to her. It is a frequent request at bedtime.

I felt the book covered many Chinese wedding traditions at a level a child from 3 to 8 could easily understand. I learned that the tea ceremony symbolized the acceptance of the daughter-in-law into the family because now she served the tea as a family member, rather than being served the tea as a guest. The artwork is bright and colorful, very appealing to young children.

The book also helped my daughter understand that adding family members can expand the love, not take it away.

Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully informative
This picture book is an adorable peek into a Chinese-American wedding, which combines many elements of both cultures- symbolic gifts are given, special foods eaten, and traditional outfits worn, but flower bouquets are tossed and guests feast on an American-style wedding cake. The protagonist, Jenny, who is the groom's only niece, is worried that his relationship with his new wife will leave no room for her, and causes mischief throughout the wedding, but is eventually mollified with a genuinely sweet gesture of Stella, the bride. This is an excellent way to show how cultures can combine to create absolutely beautiful celebrations.