New Clothes for New Year's Day

Here in the USA - probably because there are more citizens of Chinese descent, than of any other Asian nation - we tend to refer to the lunar (or lunisolar) new year as 'Chinese New Year,' forgetting that it is a day that is celebrated in many cultures. I've done this myself, in thoughtless moments, so I was particularly glad to learn of Hyun-joo Bae's New Clothes for New Year's Day, a beautiful picture-book celebration of the Korean New Year, and the custom of dressing up, in new and very special clothing, that goes along with it.

A little girl - cute as a button - dresses herself in all the traditional items of clothing, from a crimson wrap-around silk skirt to a rainbow-striped jacket, made by her mother for the New Year, in Bae's show more delightful picture-book celebration of this special day. Many of the two-page spreads feature a simple narrative, in which the girl puts on a piece of clothing, on one page, and a full-page illustration of the little girl - in all her sartorial splendor - on the other. Others feature beautiful two-page illustrations, with a painting of the little girl superimposed upon a colorful, motif-decorated background.

The overall effect is simply charming, communicating both the girl's delight in her beautiful new clothing, and a sense of the importance of the day. A brief afterword gives more details, both about general New Year's celebrations in Korea, and about each specific piece of clothing mentioned in the story. Given the dearth of children's stories about Korean New Year, the appearance of this gem - originally published in Korea, and translated here - is particularly welcome! Many thanks to my goodreads friend, Kathryn, for making me aware of it! show less

Oh, *swoon*.

Never mind the dark cover, the interior has plenty of white space to make the darling little girl and all the details of her clothing shine. The book reminds me of the best Golden Books of adorable children proudly accomplishing a big kid task, a la' Eloise Wilkin. But in this case the cheeks aren't quite so round and, of course, it has a Korean theme. But still, my son and I were impressed that this child was able to get all these ceremonial items of new clothing on all by herself, even if she tumbles sometimes.

Author's note points out that this child is from a well-off family and not all families in Korea can celebrate like this, but the book does reflect tradition and aspiration. There is other back matter, too.

I will show more definitely look for more by this talented creator. This is the kind of art that I love. show less

I loved this book for multiple reasons, the two of which stood out the most to me were the point of view and language, making this a perfect story for children to read. Starting with the point of view, this story is told in first person by a little girl. Not only does having a young girl as the main character make it more relatable to young children, but the story is also told in such a way where it sounds like she is speaking directly to the reader. For example, the author writes, " Mother made me new clothes for New Year's Day. Aren't they beautiful?". Here the speaker is talking and engaging the reader in what she is discussing; this is beneficial because it allows for the readers to be more engaged in the story. The other aspect I show more thought was well executed was the language. Not only were the words used easily understandable for a young audience, but the author also included Korean terminology and the meanings in a glossary in the back, giving details about each used throughout. An example of this is next to a picture of the girl dressed in her new clothes, such terms like "Chima" meaning crimson silk skirt are pointing to that part of the outfit on her body. This is awesome to help children learn new languages, reach out to bilingual students, and even help those who are visual learners see the words and their meanings in an actual picture. Overall, this story's big message was to give insight on the many Korean traditions that occur during the New Year celebration. show less

I like this book for a couple reasons. First, the emotions you can feel of the young girl are contagious. You can feel the anticipation she feels of the new year and the giddiness she expresses as she puts on the clothes. It reminds me of when I would put on my “qipao” for Chinese new year as a child and look forward to the celebrations at my grandma’s house.
The second is that it includes detailed instructions on how to wear the traditional Korean dress called the hanbok. It details this in beautiful traditional Asian art which is typically drawn in calligraphy form with soft colors and lines. There is even more information in the back talking about the clothes and also the traditions of the new year.
The third is that it brings show more in the reasoning behind the new clothes. The little girl talks about how the clothes bring good luck. The reader can also feel the family’s love in this gift to the little girl as she treasures the clothes she wears.
The idea is the meaning behind new clothes and the renewal of a new year. There is a lot of symbolism that is brought up through a child’s perspective.
This book is realistic fiction because these events can happen in the current times. It could also be informational since it goes into great detail about how to wear the traditional clothing. show less

In my opinion this is a great book. The reason is due to the writing that is entailed. It is very informative but does not go to deep. It explains to the reader why the Chinese culture wears new clothes for the New Year and it is because you are starting a new life with new adventures, such as your birthday, so it is important to be your best on the New Year. Also, the illustrations add so much more information then just the text alone. Everything is black and white except the illustration, which stands out in fire truck red and different colors of the rainbow. It teaches the reader step- by- step how to get dressed in the tradition clothing and all the articles of clothing that need to be worn, such as a skirt, a top, a vest, hair show more ribbon, hat, fur vest, embroider socks, and new shoes. The big idea in this book is the culture of the Chinese New Year. What is expected for the Chinese culture to wear each New Year. show less

In my opinion this is a great book for younger students. This book is effective because it uses clear simple language to explain a holiday and traditions/reasons that may not be familiar to most of the readers. She goes through each article of clothing her mother has made by hand and we walk through her getting ready for the celebration of New Year’s Day. For example we learn that everyone wears new clothes on New Year’s Day, “Mother made new clothes for New Year’s Day! Aren’t they beautiful? A crimson silk skirt. A rainbow-striped jacket.” The reader clearly can follow along because of the clear language used even if we are not accustomed to a rainbow jacket or “A charm and lucky bag” being hung on our jackets. The show more illustrations aid in this books effective ness. We may not know what a black satin cap looks like or a lucky charm or bag but the illustrations give us an idea of what they look like and that increases our understanding of the text. The best illustration and use of language are at the last page though. The illustrator has drawn all the items described in the book and the author has written the English and Korean name of each item as well as a description so after reading the reader can get an actual definition and better idea of what each item is and stands for or means. It makes for a very effective children’s book and leads to a lot of understanding- readers go away with more knowledge about a different culture- Korean culture- than they knew in the start. The meaning of this story is to bring understanding to the reader about a culture that is not their own. It teaches acceptance because the reader understands another culture better and is excited for the young girl’s holiday and the year to come. show less

There are three main reasons I enjoyed the book New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-Joo Bae. The first reason being the illustrations. The illustrations were fitting and appropriate with the text. For example, the illustrations showed step-by-step how the young girl prepared her clothes for New Year’s Day and how they were to be worn. The second reason being the descriptive language. Since New Clothes for New Year’s Day was centered on a young Japanese girl, Japanese terms were used in the book. However, the author provided the definition of each piece of clothing and where it was to be worn on the body. A picture with these descriptions are also placed at the end of the book. The final reason I enjoyed this book was because it show more provided the history and significance of New Year’s Day in the Japanese culture. Throughout the book the author showed how the Japanese prepare for New Year’s, as well as why the holiday is important. The overall message of New Clothes for New Year’s Day is to embrace new beginnings and future possibilities. show less