Happy New Year! Festive Children's Books to Celebrate the New Year

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...and just like that, one year has passed and a new one is beginning! New Year's Day is an exciting time for some and can bring apprehension for others. It's a time for celebration, reflection, and a time to maybe set a few goals or two. These children's books about the new year will inspire readers to reflect on last year, while also looking forward to the excitement of the new year.

"If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present... gratefully." Maya Angelou

A little girl helping her grandmother prepare a holiday meal learns about the origins of soul food in this powerful picture book that celebrates African American cuisine and identity from an award-winning author.

Know what I like most about Grandma's kitchen?

More than jambalaya? More than sweet potato pie? Even more than pralines?

Grandma's stories! Every meal Grandma cooks comes with a story.

What will today's story be?

While visiting her grandma in Louisiana, nine-year-old Frances is excited to help prepare the New Year's Day meal. She listens as Grandma tells stories--dating back to the Atlantic Slave Trade--about the food for their feast. Through these stories, Frances learns not only about the ingredients and the dishes they are making but about her ancestors and their history as well.

A celebration of the stories that connect us, this picture book urges us to think about the foods we eat and why we eat them. This book was inspired by the author's own childhood and includes her family's very own recipe for pralines in the back!

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Lily LaMotte, brilliant author of the graphic novel Measuring Up, an ALA Top Ten, has written her debut picture book about a special Lunar New Year feast. Perfect for fans of Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin and I Am Golden by Eva Chen.

Themes of love and family underlie the snappy text. --Kirkus

It's almost Lunar New Year, and Chloe can't wait to celebrate! But first, Chloe and her family must prepare for the new year. They buy new shoes, lay out good-luck oranges in a bowl, decorate the red envelope, and make a crispy turnip cake. Everyone comes together to cook a fantastic feast, saving a plate for A-má, of course. Chloe enjoys the festive celebration and yummy food, but most of all, she loves spending time with her family.

Lily LaMotte and Michelle Lee have created a tender, warm, and uplifting holiday story about tradition and the importance of being with those you love.

The backmatter contains educational facts about the Lunar New Year celebration in Taiwan and a fun recipe for a yummy fortune cake!

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Happy New Year ... in July! This versatile collection of engaging original poems showcases New Year celebrations throughout the year and around the world.

In many places around the globe, the new year starts on January 1. But not everywhere! Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February. Iranians observe Nowruz in March. For Thai people, Songkran occurs in April. Ethiopians greet the new year at Enkutatash in September. All these celebrations, and many others, have deep-rooted traditions and treasured customs.

Acclaimed poet Marilyn Singer has created a lively poetry collection that highlights sixteen of these fascinating festivities, some well-known and some less familiar. Together with Susan L. Roth's captivating collage illustrations, the poems take readers to the heart of these beloved holidays. Every month of the year, somewhere in the world people celebrate with joy and good wishes for a happy new year.

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Join the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year's soup -- and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be.

The shake-shake of maracas vibrates down to my toes.

Ti Gran's feet tap-tap to the rhythm.

Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup -- Freedom Soup -- just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle's family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle's family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara's lush illustrations bring to life both Belle's story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles's lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.

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Ava's excited to say goodbye to el Año Viejo--but will her shyness keep her from joining in the celebration?

Ava Gabriela is visiting her extended family in Colombia for the holidays. She's excited to take part in family traditions such as making bunuelos, but being around all her loud relatives in an unfamiliar place makes Ava shy and quiet.

How will Ava find her voice before she misses out on all the New Year's fun?

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Shanté Keys and the New Year's Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport, Illustrated by Marion Eldridge

Shanté Keys loves New Year's Day! But while Grandma fixed chitlins, baked ham, greens, and cornbread, she forgot the black-eyed peas!

Oh no--it'll be bad luck without them! So Shanté sets out to borrow some from the neighbors.

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