Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2019 From exploding red firecrackers to sweet brown peanut puffs, this festive book presents all the delights of the Chinese New Year. It takes a simple approach, aiming to teach children about the holiday as well as about color words in both English and Chinese. Each spread displays a traditional Chinese New Year item on one side, illustrated in monochrome, while the facing page names the color in both languages. For the Chinese-language part, both the character and the anglicization—or pinyin—are given. Back matter includes a recap of all the items along with explanations of their meanings, whether it’s a tangerine representing wealth and happiness or a zodiac-stamped gold coin commemorating the special day. The spectrum here ranges from common red and green to the more esoteric cerulean and maroon. At times, colors don’t always match up perfectly with the items—the lucky money envelope, here depicted as yellow, is traditionally red—but children will enjoy the vivid pictures of dragons, lucky fish, and more. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2019 PreS-Gr 1—This simple and beautiful color concept book features large monochromatic watercolor paintings of items commonly used to celebrate Chinese New Year. The eye-catching text is limited to the name of the color in English and Chinese (both in characters and pinyin translation). With one color featured on each spread, the effect is quite striking. Due to the predominance of red in New Year celebrations, some items are pictured in nonstandard colors (firecrackers are red, but lucky money envelopes are yellow and the lucky fish symbol is black). Multicolored items are also rendered in a single shade (such as a cerulean lion dance). Back matter gives a few sentences of explanation about each item pictured and its role in holiday celebrations. The simplicity of the design and concept means even the youngest readers will enjoy this one; it's also a fun and easy vocabulary lesson for older readers who do not already speak Mandarin. VERDICT This wonderfully executed concept book is a great holiday choice for younger readers.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.