THIS NEXT NEW YEAR

Wong, Janet S. 2000. THIS NEXT NEW YEAR. Ill. by Choi, Yangsook. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN-10: 0374355037

PLOT SUMMARY
Wong has written a wonderful story describing a young boys preparations for Chinese New Year. Our young narrator explains how Chinese New Year is different then the New Years Day that he celebrates on January 1st. We learn how his family prepares for their celebration by cleaning the house and cooking special meals. The reader is also introduced to some of the traditions of the holiday such as receiving money in red envelopes and the belief that if your palms itch you will be coming into money. Just like New Years Day on January 1st or main character looks forward to s fresh new start with the new year and “making all his dreams come true.”

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Wong does a wonderful job explaining the tradition of the Chinese New Year to an younger audience. She is able to take a subject that could be a bit dry and add humor so that an younger child can relate. Her explanation of the young boy’s palms itching is typical of all children. “My brother thinks it’s warts, but I know the luck is coming.” It is passages like this that make the reader realize that our young narrator is no different then any other American boy. Another cultural marker Wong uses in the story is the fact that our character ask for luck with school. He is not shown as the “smart Asian student” he obviously could use all the help he can get. A nice addition to the story is the author’s note at the end in which she explains her own memories of the holiday.
Choi’s illustrations work well with Wong’s story. She uses warm colors to show the excitement of the holiday. Though the illustrations are simple they have lots of action showing the excited preparations that most people face before the holidays. The characters are shown with warm tan to brown complexions. Some do appear to be of Asian decent but they are not drawn as the stereotypical Asian.
Overall this is a wonderful book to reads to introduce the custom of Chinese New Year. It is simple enough for younger students yet would be a great jumping point for older students who want to learn more.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Amazon.com
A spunky young boy makes plans for "this next new year" in Janet S. Wong's festive, truly engaging story of the Chinese Lunar New Year, celebrated annually in late January or early February. "And all day tomorrow, Lunar New Year's Day, I will not say one awful thing, none of that can't do/don't have/why me because this is it, a fresh start, my second chance, and I have so many dreams I'm ready now to make come true." So he flosses his teeth and helps his mom scrub the house "rough and raw so it can soak up good luck like an empty sponge," and plans to be brave when his family sets off firecrackers at midnight. The Chinese Korean boy tells us, in a funny, fresh, first-person voice, how his best friends, a German French boy and a Hopi Mexican girl, like to celebrate the Chinese New Year, too. Yangsook Choi's artfully composed, action-packed paintings add uplifting color to the happy spirit of the holiday, and an author's note provides more details about the Chinese New Year and Wong's childhood memories of the celebration.
From School Library Journal
Youngsters will enjoy the bright colors and the sense of motion and activity conveyed as the boy helps his mother clean, flosses his teeth, and cringes from the noise of the firecrackers. A good choice for anyone getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year.


Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Next-Year-Janet-Wong/dp/0374355037

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