Yong Chen

I very much enjoyed this story! Far away from her mother and things that remind her of the New Year, a little girl grows homesick. A package arrives from family and uncles in China that helps her remember the people and places she misses. The package includes a gift of a bracelet, likely special for family remembering her and wonderful for remembering family and friends far away.

There is not very much information or backstory to Chinese New year, but this is a beautifully illustrated book show more with broad takeaways. show less

With her mother's sister and two brothers far away in China, Amy has grown up without experiencing 拜年 / bài nián - the traditional family visits that occur during the celebration of Chinese New Year. But this year, her Uncles Zhong and Ming, and her Aunt Mei, have sent Amy a special present - something to remind her of her roots in China, and of the family who, though she has never met them, love her very much...

Yong Chen - an artist born in Guangdong Province, China, and now living in show more New Hampshire - makes his debut with A Gift, a lovely picture-book that evokes all the warmth of family and tradition. The watercolor illustrations are beautiful, capturing Amy's happiness perfectly. Highly recommended, to anyone looking for good stories set during Chinese New Year! show less

Amy’s mother always feels homesick whenever it’s Chinese New Year because her family is half way across the world. Amy has never meet her Uncle Zhong, Uncle Ming, or Aunt Mei, but they often send her letters. This Chinese New Year, her aunt and uncles sent her a dragon necklace that is the symbol of China. This short story allows the reader to take a brief tour of parts of China through the text but also through the beautiful illustrations. It surprised me that the main point was not show more about the Chinese New Year, but about how Amy's aunt and uncles found and made her necklace. I wished that the book gave more information about Chinese New Year's (although it does go into detail on the author's note page). Overall, I really enjoyed the illustrations and gain a small insight of a different culture. show less

This book was fine. The bits about empire were honestly among the most painful reading (in terms of shoddy analysis) I have read for grad school thus far, but overall it was informative and a good starting point for thinking about food in a transnational context. It's also very accessible in terms of readability (I read the entire thing in maybe two hours with a lunch break,) so if you're looking for that, it's a good read!