Title: Lunar New Year Around the World
Created by Amanda Li and Angel Chang
Published by Allen & Unwin
RRP: $14.99

Find out all about Lunar New Year and how it is celebrated in different communities across the world!

Meet families in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as in bustling cities like San Francisco, London, Sydney and Toronto and join them in their celebrations at home and on the streets in parades, lantern festivals and in temples. Packed with fascinating facts, young readers will love finding out all about different Lunar New Year traditions in this gorgeously illustrated picture book.

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Amanda-Li,-illustrated-by-Angel-Chang-Lunar-New-Year-Around-the-World-9781800782792/

This lively picture book is a global celebration of Chinese New Year. Full of interesting facts, different characters introduce their country’s traditions to the reader. The written text is well worked and easy to read. Small vignettes of text will enable the reading to be more manageable for newly independent readers.

This book has loads of potential for use in the classroom. For young students who are not yet reading independently, it can be read aloud in sections or in one sitting. For independent readers, why not have multiple copies and create cross-curricula activities, the potentials are many and could last for weeks.

This is a must for all public libraries and schools and child care centres.

Classroom activities

  • Locate all characters on a world map. Divide the class into groups and have them research a country each. Have class choose the perspectives they want to learn about each country, or let the group choose. Report back to class in a format of their choosing, for instance, they might want to write and perform a play, make a poster, make a clay animation.
  • Make a list of the Chinese words and the English translation. Decorate.
  • Make a Chinese paper lantern. Write a message on your lantern.
  • Make a Chinese New Year dragon.

Many thanks to Allen & Unwin for supplying this book for review