Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Fong Family
Celebra el Año Nuevo Chino con la familia Fong
Book Description
Story:
A Chinese-American family invites their good friends the Sánchez’, a Latino family, to celebrate the Chinese New Year with them. Nico, a curious little member of the Sánchez family, is fascinated by the celebration and gets himself in a bit of trouble during his picture-taking adventure.
Non-fiction:
An overview of the history of the celebration of the Lunar New Year in 12 pages with striking photographs
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Each of the twenty four books in this collection dedicated to some of the most important holidays and festivities celebrated in the United States is the combination of two books in one. The first part is an engaging realistic fiction story beautifully illustrated by a diversity of illustrators. The second part is a non-fiction piece that explains the history and significance of the holiday or celebration. This second part is illustrated with bright and unique photographs that will allow children to witness the celebration.
The festivities addressed include:
- Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Celebrate PowWow
- Celebrate Chinese New Year
- Celebrate Halloween & Day of the Dead
- Celebrate Mardi Gras
- Celebrate Thanksgiving
- Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
- Celebrate Hannukah
- Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
- Celebrate Kwanzaa
- Celebrate Fourth of July
- Celebrate Christmas & Three Kings Day
For more details in the series and the values it presents see the series description: Series Stories to Celebrate / Cuentos para celebrar. There is also an individual page, like this, for each of the books in the series.
Lesson plans and questions to guide the Creative Reading Dialogue can be found on the SantillanaUSA website: www.santillanausa.com/cuentosparacelebrar.htm
CDS DESCRIPTION
There are two CDs with the readings of the twelve stories in English and two CDs with the readings of the twelve stories in Spanish.
The CDs will allow children to follow a professional reading aloud individually or in groups.
They can be beneficial to children learning a second language, whether English or Spanish, since they will be able to read the book in their stronger language and then listen to the recording in the second language, or vice versa.
Author’s Note
Since I am one of the two authors of this book, I can share my side of the story. You can visit www.isabelcampoy.com to read what the other author has to say.
Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area for thirty three years I am very acquainted with San Francisco’s Chinatown, and have had the opportunity to participate in the celebration of the Lunar New Year many times. As a professor at the International Multicultural Program at the University of San Francisco I had the privilege of having excellent Asian students in my doctoral courses, many of whom were Chinese. I have brought to this book, written in collaboration with Isabel Campoy, my appreciation for these students, some who became true friends, and the value I place on multicultural friendships. It was a pleasure to ask one of my former students, Dr. Janice Young, to review the book for cultural authenticity.
Many readers are intrigued about how two authors collaborate to write a book. If you share this curiosity you may enjoy reading how Isabel Campoy explains this experience in the chapter authored by her “Writing in Collaboration: One plus One is One or Two” in the book Alma Flor Ada and You, volume II published by Libraries Unlimited.
READERS’ RESPONSES
If you have enjoyed reading or sharing this book, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.
