Review Detail

A SWEET NEW YEAR FOR REN is a delightful picture book celebrating the Lunar New Year and being with family. Ren wakes up excited to celebrate the new year, and considering she has grown two inches this year, she might finally be big enough to help. When she wakes up, she is ready to get going and excited to participate as her family completes their traditions. However, it seems she is still too little to help with most things - but she can finally help with making the pineapple cakes. She listens carefully and makes them well, excited to share with family.

What I loved: This was such a sweet story with poetic prose that celebrate the magic of the holidays and spending time with family. Featuring lots of traditions for the Lunar New Year, Ren gets into the spirit of the holiday and loves to help where she can. Young readers will empathize with Ren and the feeling of being too little to contribute, but like Ren, they will see that they are slowly being able to help more as they get bigger. A major theme is also the joy and love that family can share together, and Ren is so excited to see her family gather together, especially her big brother who is back in town for the holiday. Ultimately, this is a story of love and sharing around the new year.

The illustrations are really lovely, bringing Ren and her family to life at each part of the celebration. The key elements of the Lunar New Year celebration are found throughout the story, as well as all the joy and love shared between Ren and her family. The length of the story is great for older toddlers and preschoolers, who will also find that Ren's feelings about being too little also resonate.

Final verdict: A poetic story of family and celebration, A SWEET NEW YEAR FOR REN is a charming picture book about the joy shared with loved ones on the Lunar New Year!