Alex's Good Fortune

December 1, 2020
Grades K-2 It's Chinese (aka Lunar) New Year, and Alex wakes up excited to begin celebrating. The first order of business is to invite her white friend Ethan over. They join the parade in the streets, waving the dragon, drumming, and calling out good wishes. Then it's back home to continue the traditions. Aunts and uncles give the children red envelopes of money and decorate banners to hang on the doors. Shum leads readers through the children's day, teaching cultural outsiders about traditions and symbolism, and sharing familiar details with cultural insiders--perhaps represented by Ethan and Alex, respectively. The characters in the illustrations are reminiscent of Charlie Brown and his friends, with large heads and expressive faces adding an emotional element to the sparsely descriptive prose. The story draws to a close with the best parts of the occasion: the banquet and the lantern festival. Alex's good fortune is that she gets to share this joyful day with Ethan, and vice versa. Supplementary back matter adds details.

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