The Lucky Red Envelope: A lift-the-flap Lunar New Year Celebration

Yue and her parents are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year. She's celebrated before but this will be her baby brother Ru's first time. As she works with her Mama and Baba, Yue learns about the customs and rituals which are celebrated annually. She welcomes relatives to her home as well as learning the importance of the Zodiac, cooking special food, and going out to see fireworks and parades. The red envelopes of the title are distributed as the family gathers together before a final outing ends the biggest Chinese festival of the year.

This a lovely book written and beautifully illustrated by Vikki Zhang which was informative in a way sure to engage even the youngest reader. Even though I read an advanced electronic copy the double page spreads were welcoming and the 144 pictures beneath the flaps were visible and added another level to this very enjoyable read.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is an excellent book for the classroom as well as home book collections which is informative and friendly in equal measure. Recommended.

This picture book is about the Lunar New Year Celebration (Chinese New Year). It is also a lift a flap book with a total of 144 flaps. The stroy follows Yue and her parents as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. She learns about cooking special foods, decorating for luck and even getting red envelopes always with even amounts of cash. The illustrations are detailed and beautiful. I only saw a digital copy and it would show the page in a normal layout and on the next page the flaps would be open. Under flaps would be things for luck, treats, and sometimes additional information. I learned that the Chinese Zodiac mythology is because a king invited all the animals to race and the twelve fastest are represented. My school district is actively encouraging diversifying school library collections to include other cultures and traditions. This would be a great addition. (My only concern is that flap books are easily damaged from over use.) Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group-Wide Eyed Editions for a temporary digital copy and I am leaving an honest review.

Book Blurb: Get ready for Lunar New Year, following a little girl and her family as they get ready for and celebrate the Lunar New Year festival.

With non-fiction information about the significance of certain rituals, but told through the excited eyes of a child, this is a book to return to year after year in the run up to the biggest festival in the Chinese calendar.

Each of the 12 spreads will feature 12 lift flaps, 144 in total.

Review:
A beautiful and fun book to get into the festivities of Lunar New Year! The artwork is absolutely stunning and this is a great read for children to learn more about Lunar New Year!

*Thanks Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions, Wide Eyed Editions for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

First thoughts seeing the cover of this book were:
1. Holy cow! These illustrations are gorgeous!
2. Over 140 flaps?!?

Going into this book, I only knew minimal information about the Lunar New Year. This book changed that for sure! Even as a grown adult, I learned tons of new facts about LNY and the customs surrounding it! And can we talk about those illustrations for a second?!? I am a librarian, a parent, and lifelong reader, and these are some of the best, most detailed illustrations I have ever seen! I could probably read this book over and over and find something new every time! Just absolutely stunning!

I would recommend this book to anyone who may be looking to learn a bit about Lunar New Year. It would be absolutely perfect for teaching kids about holiday customs in various cultures, and the flaps and illustrations would definitely keep the kids engaged!

🧚🏻Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions, and author Vikki Zhang for providing me with a free advanced copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest review!

If I had to choose one word to describe this book, it would be "busy." Every page is full of so much gorgeous detail, and there are over 140 flaps to lift. The flaps organize information about Chinese New Year and Chinese culture, but it's all done in a fun way. I would recommend this for a family gift or for a classroom.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

This would be a wonderful classroom book for students to learn about the Lunar New Year. The illustrations are so gorgeous! You feel like you are sitting in their living room. The colors are so bright!

A cute and fun illustrated book best for introducing Chinese and Lunar New Year's celebration cultures and its meaning for kids filled with cute riddles and clues here and there! I'm not Chinese but I know some of my friends who celebrate Lunar New Year and I've got more understanding now about the foods, ornaments/decorations, etc.

A gorgeous and educational lift the flap book for young readers! The drawings are very colorful and elaborate. This would be an excellent book for preschool to early elementary school aged readers. I learned so much and enjoyed the vibrancy of the Lunar New Year.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

An elaborately and gorgeously illustrated story of a little girl and her baby brother who celebrate the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) with their parents at their home. The pictures show the decorated family home and the family table with various holiday foods and treats.

I loved the red colors everywhere in the home and the abundance and variety of the foods and gifts, plus the red envelopes with money that children traditionally receive for the new year.

I wanted to see the finished paper copy with the fold out flaps meant to delight child readers. I definitely want a hard copy for new year gifts!

Lovely story, pictures, and concept.

had so much fun reading this book, the story is so adorable and the illustrations were so well done and charming, there’s so many little details in every page that I couldn’t stop but be mesmerized by it all. I will definitely be recommending it! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

I read this book with my daughter and we both really enjoyed it.

I loved that the book was easy to read and follow and she loved being able to find out more about the Chinese New Year - she had learnt a little about it in school in her first year but this was more informative.

We loved that the book also mentioned the 12 animals associated with the Lunar New Year as well as we have recently read a book on that so it linked well together reading on this topic.

It was well written, fun and it had some lovely illustrations

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

This is an informative story on Chinese new year traditions. As a Chinese Canadian reading this, I was familiar with some traditions but learned something new too! It’s a fun way to introduce Chinese traditions to kids and anyone else wanting to learn more. I also love the interactive component of this ‘lift the flap’ style book.

A beautifully illustrated interactive lift-the-flap highlighting the traditions and importance of the Lunar New Year.

We loved finding out about all of the customs as seen through the eyes of Yue as she and her family prepare to celebrate and beneath every flap was a treasure trove of information presented in the most stunning manner.

We recommend this book for children aged 3-6 and also to any parents or carers wishing to teach their little ones about different cultures. We certainly learned plenty!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wide Eyed Editions (Quarto Publishing Group) for sending us this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

The Lucky Red Envelope was absolutely incredible. I wasn't sure how a life the flap book would work as an ebook but the format was great (one page with the flaps down; the next page with them up). This book had so much depth and beauty. The illustrations were gorgeous and added so much to understanding lunar new year. The flaps were interactive and engaging -- helping the reader want to learn more. This is by far one of the best children's non-fiction books I've ever read and absolutely the best one on the lunar new year. This would be the perfect addition to a unit or display on holidays around the world. I would recommend it for every child, classroom, or school library. A must have!

It is a fun and informative book on Chinese New Year. How the Chinese prepare and celebrate their new year? With a lot of fun flaps throughout the book, to know the tradition, the things they have, and some explanations, this book is a good read.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for a copy of The Lucky Red Envelope!

"Get ready for Lunar New Year, following a little girl and her family as they get ready for and celebrate the Lunar New Year festival.

With non-fiction information about the significance of certain rituals, but told through the excited eyes of a child, this is a book to return to year after year in the run up to the biggest festival in the Chinese calendar.

Each of the 12 spreads will feature 12 lift flaps, 144 in total."

REVIEW:

Talk about a DETAILED book! 144 flaps and each page is filled with intricate designs. I had so much fun going over each page and learning about Lunar New Year.

I love how both children and adults can learn something new through an interactive and beautiful book! Highly recommend this to teachers, librarians, caregivers, aunts/uncles, parents, etc! Buy this for the little kiddos in your life (and yourself)! You'll enjoy it.

A fabulous introduction for kids to the concept of the Lunar New Year, with
gorgeous illustrations and easy to read text. A winner!

This was such a wonderful, beautiful and colorful book about the Lunar New Year. It would be perfect to teach any child about the customs and traditions of the Lunar New Year.

Lushly illustrated interactive picture book about a Chinese family welcoming a new baby to their home and celebrating the Lunar New Year/Spring Festival together. Lots of fun hidden details to discover inside the flaps and elsewhere on each page. A true feast for the eye!