Kim-Lan Tran

When his teacher and the other children in his English class begin discussing the upcoming Têt celebration, lonely Huy Ly does not join in. Newly arrived in America with his father, he misses his mother and family back in Vietnam, and does not feel like celebrating the new year. As teacher and students shop together, and then gather at Ms. Kim's apartment for the occasion, they miss Huy, until Ms. Kim has the idea to invite both Huy and his father to the celebration...

Although I have read a number of books devoted to the Chinese celebration of the lunar new year, as well as one book (Hyun-Joo Bae's New Clothes for New Year's Day) about the Korean celebration of this holiday, Têt: The New Year is the first I have encountered about the Vietnamese holiday marking this date. Here in the states we tend to refer to the lunar new year as 'Chinese New Year,' probably because Chinese-Americans are the largest Asian ethnic group in the country, so it's good to be reminded of the fact that this holiday is celebrated in many countries and cultures. It is particularly good, moreover, to learn about Têt, because some Americans might only have encountered this word when learning about the Tet Offensive, a military campaign conducted in 1968, during the Vietnam War. In any case, I found Kim-Lan Tran's story engaging and informative, and appreciated the depiction of various customs and foods associated with the day. The narrative sometimes felt a little too driven by the need to introduce and describe those customs, but never to the point where it was overly cumbersome. The accompanying artwork from Mai Vo-Dinh was lovely, and the inclusion of photographs showing actual Têt celebrations was a nice touch. I also appreciated the glossary and author/illustrator blurbs included at the rear. This is the third title I have read from the Modern Curriculum Press' Multicultural Celebrations series, following upon Ruth Suyenaga's Obon and Anisha Kacker's Ravi's Divali Surprise, and I hope it will not be my last. These books are educational, serving to introduce holidays that may be unfamiliar to many American children, but doing so through story. This one is recommended to picture-book readers looking for lunar new year tales in general, or stories about Têt in particular.… (más)

This book is about a group of Vietnamese children who now live in the United States. It is Tet, which is the Vietnamese New Year. Some of the children have forgotten how to celebrate the New Year, so their teacher helps them to celebrate Tet just as they would in Vietnam.

I really liked this book because it really shows the culture of the Vietnamese people. It explains their customs and traditions in a way that makes it easy to understand. Some of their traditions are very interesting.

As an extension of this book, I would have a Tet celebration. We would have the foods and decorations that are used to celebrate the new year. This book would also be good to show the different ways people around the world celebrate their holidays. For instance, I could find books about how people from all over the world celebrate the new year.… (más)