Summary
This story is about a little girl named Ruby who is about to celebrate Chinese New Year. Since her grandma cannot visit her this year, Ruby decides to visit her grandmother. She makes a gift for her and sets off on her adventure. On her adventure, she meets various animals that she takes along the way. She meets various animals such as a horse, snake, and goat they all follow her to visit her grandma. All of the animals in the Chinese zodiac eventually make it to grandmas house to celebrate.
Theme(s):
family, animals, holiday
Personal Response
I enjoyed this story, I feel like this story differed from others that I have read about the Chinese New Year. I loved how the story focused on all of the animals in the Chinese zodiac because this is a very important aspect of the holiday. I wish that the story incorporated the meaning of each animal into it and gave more detail but overall it was a great story.
Teaching Ideas
This story would be a great one to teach about the Chinese New Year. This story specifically focuses on animals that follow the Chinese zodiac. I would use this book to focus a lesson on the Chinese zodiac and explain to the children how each year a different animal is symbolic and this rotates. If I had any Asian American children in my class, I would have them help me teach the lesson and explain it from their cultural perspective.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 01, Grade 02
