Chinese New Year Books

THis is the 3rd year in a row I bought this book. First year it was a gift and I thought it would be typical horoscope stuff which I find useless. However, this book includes monthly forecasts for how the month will go in personal and professional life and for me its very good. these monthly trends are very useful and for me, being a Regional Sales Mgr in the electronics industry, the book has kept me focused on the things I need to watch for to ensure work goes smoothly. I dont use the feng shui portion of the book much but overall, the book is the well worth the price.

Since I covered his 1999 and 2000 series, I am reviewing this 2001 paperback with some new expectations. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed or added. That will explain my downgrading this book to a 4 stars rating for a regular follower to his works. My suggestion to add a contact to the author for safe consultation or clairification apparently proved too much of a request for the publishers-nope-there's no contacts! Content wise, there are no new addition or insights.

As I study into the Feng Shui practice more and more, I observed that Rocky Sung's brand of Feng Shui is somewhat different from most. Imagine if you were a Metal Rooster and your personal element is Wood, such confusion would most certainly put any aspiring progress to a grinding halt. What would apply? Your personal or your horoscopic influences? Again, you won't be able to know from this book.

The 2 things I personally dislike about this series, are; (1) the recommendation of feng shui enhancementthrough the deployment of "lucky" objects. Even being Chinese in Asia, I find it quite a challenge to obtain these items of "strange" configurations! It can go to task of getting (example)a pair of horses with books on their backs running out from water!...see my point? (2)the thing that still continues to baffle me is the lucky directions for the year. Does it mean facing a direction or sittiing in one? Which direction does one face? How about sleeping? Head pointing to the lucky directions or just sleeping in the lucky sector? The pictorial illustrations just shows being in a "lucky" sector and does nothing to cull these doubts. These are very important basic aspects of imparting correct knowledge to the reading public.

Bookwise, get the book to know the lucky and unlucky stars for the new lunar year. If this series continue the way it does, very soon, there will be other better ones that will capture the readers' attention. Hope that don't happen too soon. Back to you, Master Sung...surprise us next year.

This book is good for introducing the traditions of Chinese New Year. I have used it with Special Needs children,Bilingual students, and now my son's preschool class. It has photographs of parades,families celebrating the holiday, and the traditional Lion Dance(dragon dance). It is a great way to teach the holiday and multicultural issues for all ageas.

Christmas is here, but it's different this year. For the first time, Julie and her older sister Tracy will be celebrating Christmas twice: once with their mother and once with their father. The girls are still getting used to their parents' divorce, but it's proving especially hard for Tracy. She initially doesn't want to go to their dad's house - their old house, which now looks and feels empty and strange - and even though she eventually goes along, she ends up leaving early. Shortly thereafter, Julie gets involved in preparations for Chinese New Year with her best friend Ivy and her family.

Happy New Year, Julie is the third book in the Julie line written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Robert Hunt. Julie Albright is one of the American Girls, books which offer realistic glimpses into America's past through the eyes of young girls. Throughout the series, Julie has grown more optimistic and thoughtful. This book in particular shows how she always finds things to celebrate and appreciate, including her family.

Once again Robert Daley manages to capture the true essence of the New York City Police Dept. Capt White who will stop at nothing to bring down the very powerful Chinese organized crime faction in New York. He finds himself running from a past and almost destroys his future. Truly a jaw dropping novel. Robert Daley is the best police writer of our time. Don't miss this one.

This book starts out with a basic overview of the Chinese calendar, including the story of how the 12 animals came to represent the Chinese zodiac. There is then a calendar over the last 100 years, (to 1900), showing the lunar calendar, and when the Chinese New Years began, so you can determine what signs you and others belong to. After that, follows a basic description of each of the twelve animals.

What I was concerned about when I bought this book was that, as a horse, I knew there would be a description of what would be in store for those born in the year of the horse, etc., but what about those born in the year of the fire horse, water horse, etc? Well, as it turns out, Somerville has also added the elements to his book, and you will not be disappointed. Following the basic overview of each animals' upcoming year, is a further detailed description of what the element of the animal will affect that person. I was really pleased to discover that. If you know anything about Chinese astrology, you know that the fire disposition is quite different from the earth disposition or water disposition.

One thing I was disappointed with, is that there is no information on lucky directions or colors or charms, (such as stones or elements) to wear or display. For that, perhaps one should look in a combination Chinese astrology/ feng-shui book. I'm not sure, but I include it in this review for your information.

One thing I especially enjoyed was the description of other monkey years and how the trickster behaved during them. This is not only entertaining, but it is also of great interest to note how the stock market and world events played out during previous Monkey years. It can help you decide for yourself if you think Chinese astrology is valid or not. You can also look back on your own life and reflect on where you were during that time and see how your own Monkey year was.

I work with many different types of people and this book helps me to understand "where they are coming from". The one complaint I have is that Mr. Sommerville uses the acronym DIY but never gives the reader a clue as to its meaning. When acronyms are used, an interpretation should be provided in a glossary.

Not many Chinese New Year books out there for the tiny ones. Wish this was a board book, but otherwise it is very sweet. Lovely artwork.

Well, obviously a bah-humbug wrote the one-star review. Chin-up,'Bears'!

While it's true there are other (and better) books regarding Chinese New Year from a content standpoint, this one seems age appropriate enough without dumbing down. Very childlike. I must confess I'm not crazy about the ersatz allusion to Asian kanji characters of the font used for the title itself. Picking up on ornamentation would have been a refreshing alternative. Less predictable....just a suggestion.

Go to search the content of the book. Use the word 'finally' to get to page 22, "Finally at the of the parade..." Didn't anyone at the publisher's examine the book before putting it on sale? This is downright criminal. What are children as young as 4 supposed to do when they get to this line?

I hate the plog at amazon. I wish there is a way to turn it off all together. I also hate authors who waste time writing them. In this case Ms Katz should take the time to read this review and try and come up with a response. Please put educating our young before your greed. I put it less than 50% chance that this review will NOT be removed.

There are better and more beautify Chinese New Year books around.

This is an easy book to read to my two year-old. The pictures are simple and bright, and the text is easy without being "dumbed down." The story has the little girl and other members of her extended family going through the tasks of getting ready for and participating in the Chinese New Year celebration. The lion dancers and dragon in the parade caused a little concern, but I explained that the lion and dragon were just people in costumes (which my daughter points out everytime we read the book). At the end, we like to say, "Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year!"

The book follows a young girl and her family as their prepare for the Chinese New Year. They decorate the walls, cooked traditional foods, and give red envelopes filled with money. They also get new clothes and fresh hair cut. The believe that they must start the new year fresh and clean. Finally it's time for the parade! The family has lots of fun watching the floats and paper lanterns.

The book was written with bold text. Not many words are on each page keeping the attention of even the smallest listeners.

Yes This is a wonderful book to introduce children and adults alike to the traditions and customs of the Chinese New Year.

I have a few books on qigong and this one is the one I rec'd to others, both beginners and experienced. Excellent with the basic and more advanced forms.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the way it is organized. It attempts to guide the reader through a full year of qigong practice, starting in spring. While this idea is, in itself, not a bad one, the increased intensity of the exercises inhibits the ability to begin practice at any other time. In other words, if your bought this book in January, as I did, you'd be starting at "month 11," which is almost at the end of the book and assumes knowledge of the previous 10 months. So, unless you begin practice in March of April, the book is nearly useless until then.

Even if the qigong exercises in this book were accurate and beneficial, you'd never know it. The sparse illustrations only show one of the three to eight steps in each exercise and the written descriptions of each step is often unclear. An introduction to qigong should be more accessible to the beginner.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the way it is organized. It attempts to guide the reader through a full year of qigong practice, starting in spring. While this idea is, in itself, not a bad one, the increased intensity of the exercises inhibits the ability to begin practice at any other time. In other words, if your bought this book in January, as I did, you'd be starting at "month 11," which is almost at the end of the book and assumes knowledge of the previous 10 months. So, unless you begin practice in March of April, the book is nearly useless until then.

Even if the qigong exercises in this book were accurate and beneficial, you'd never know it. The sparse illustrations only show one of the three to eight steps in each exercise and the written descriptions of each step is often unclear. An introduction to qigong should be more accessible to the beginner.

Check out the fittest people in any gym, and you will usually note that flexibility is a key component of their program. Check any truly spiritually centered person, and notice the glow of serenity than surrounds them. Combine both, and you understand why Western thinking is scurrying to latch onto QiGong.
Combining gentle, flexible movement with breathing and visual meditation, Qi Gong is difficult to learn by book alone. Having said that, I found "The QiGong Year" to be the most helpful of texts in introducing this method of movement which promotes positive qi (energy), healing, and a healthy mind. Mr, Bruney breaks his introduction to the phases of QiGong down on a month-by-month basis, and writes in easy to follow prose, focusing on the Ba Duan Jin (8 Fine exercises). Some poems, meditations and Taoist traditions help explain the value of the program. And the illustrations,paper and colors used in publishing this book were very carefully chosen to maintain harmony with the theme of the writing, something rarely promoted in Western literature.
Obviously, the best way to learn QiGong is through work with an expert. Barring that, The qiGong Year makes for a very acceptable substitute.

This is Chinese New Year as I know it. This book is 15 years old, so I was prepared to find it dated in both art and flow. Instead I found myself utterly drawn in, instantly comfortable with the way the people and their home and environments were rendered. Clothing and hair styles, home furnishings, food drawings--everything is spot on, plus, there's this education flavor to the drawings that makes me nostalgic for . . . my old Saturday morning Chinese school books? The text works great for me, too. The device of sharing so much information about usual Chinese New Year traditions via the opener "Just like any other year . . ." on every page, while we wait to hear what was different about THIS year, really drew me in.

The moment of dragon-riding fantasy is breathtaking.

So why am I giving this only 4 stars instead of 5? Well, it's crazy, but as much as I love this book and am getting it for myself, I'm still not sure this would be the first Chinese New Year book I'd give my FRIENDS' kids, these days, and that's my test for what gets 5 stars. I'm almost suspicious this book is TOO perfect for me, and that my friends' kids (the ones being born now) wouldn't relate the same way.

I could be wrong. I'm going to show it around and see what others think. I could just be in denial my friends and I have become our parents.

This book is wonderful.

She took it to bed to read to herself the other night. If you were doing Ch. New Year with a KG - 5th class, you could use the book, but only read selected paragraphs All the important bits of the celebration are there.

This book contained very good general information for kids about Chinese New Year; however, it was written in a very choppy style and the ideas also did not flow from one to the next. Within the general information about the young girl's preparation and celebration was a brief one to two page story about flying on a dragon and seeing Chinese New Year in ancient times. This story was too short and really didn't say anything about how the celebrations might have differed; however, connecting current celebrations to ancient times was a nice idea. ...

I am a fan of Maggie O'Farrell's writing, my favorite being After You'd Gone.

In this story she chronicles the lives and parallels of Stella and Jake. I found the writing to be wonderful as always and the characters were engaging as well. It is a different type of love story but one I definitely enjoyed.

I'm a fan of Maggie O'Farrell's and was really looking forward to reading this. O'Farrell has always been about love, but love with a twist of melancholy. In this book, classic romance creeps in a big way and ... for me, part the thrill has gone [soft] for it.

The characters in "The distance between us" are not as involving and her writing is a lot less dark, losing some of its bite in the process.

In summary, this book is still a pretty good read, but it doesn't pack the same punch as some of her previous work (e.g. this is nowhere near as hard hitting as "After You'd Gone).