Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story

K-Gr 2–The Lao Family Way involves making what you can, getting good deals, never wasting anything, and sharing extras with others. Sunny, the youngest of three sisters, takes pride in the Lao Family Way, except on Lunar New Year. Every year, their mom makes a new qípáo dress for her oldest sister, who hands down last year’s dress to the middle sister, who hands down a dress to Sunny. They have Eva’s zodiac sign (a dragon) and are Aria’s favorite color (red), and all three girls always match. Sunny wants to stand out and sets off to find a way to have something for herself. Adults will be happy that although Sunny considers adding glitter to the dress, she realizes she might ruin it and chooses instead to make individualized hair accessories for her and her sisters. While the holiday provides the backdrop, the story centers Sunny’s desire to blend the Lao Family Way with a little individuality. A few words of Mandarin are sprinkled in to Chen’s (Tricky Chopsticks) and Phuong’s (Miss Prim Goes Wild) story, while Sunny’s friends mention new year’s outfits in Korean and Cantonese.