about the book
Though she has a round face like a coin (which traditionally foretells she’ll have great wealth) and she was born in the very lucky year of the Golden Dragon, careless little Goldy Luck is neither rich nor lucky. She is always losing or breaking things.
So when she awakes on Chinese New Year morning and her mother insists that even before breakfast, Goldy must take a festive plate of turnip cakes to the Chans, the Panda family next door, Goldy knows wishing them “Kung Hei Fat Choi” is not going to be a lucky thing!
And she’s right! Things go wrong from the get-go!
The Pandas are not home but their door is unlocked. As Goldy pushes in, she fumbles and drops the whole plate of turnip cakes! Looking for a dust pan and broom, she spots three steaming bowls of congee (rice porridge). With her empty tummy rumbling, she snitches a taste of each and she ends up eating the smallest bowl all gone!
If you remember the fairy tale of Goldy Locks and the Three Bears, then you know exactly what happens next in this twisted oriental fairy tale. But this story has a slightly different ending. Back at home, little Goldy Luck thinks long and hard about the Chinese New Year and being a good neighbor. Can she do something to make up for the havoc she wrecked on the Chan’s home?
(Be sure to check out the last pages of this story. There you will find an explanation of the Chinese New Year, a chart of the Chinese Zodiac, and a yummy recipe for making your very own turnip cakes!)
about the author
Natasha (Carter) Yim is a seasoned writer. She began way back in 1980 and her portfolio contains picture books, short stories, poetry, novels, plays, and nonfiction articles that range in topics from AIDS to eating dim sum. Still, when it came time to find a publisher for her picture book, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, little did she realize that she was about to embark on a nine-year journey through five editors and three publishing houses! But one thing Natasha knows: a career as a writer means being very patient and determined.
Natasha grew up in Malaysia and went to boarding schools in Singapore and Hong Kong. She began writing when she was eleven years old. When it was time to go to college, she picked Dominican University in California. There she earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature with a Writing Emphasis, and a master’s in Counseling Psychology. Most of her professional career has been in counseling and social work with emotionally disadvantaged children. She worked in residential treatment centers, group homes, foster family agencies, and for the Mendocino County Child Protective Services.
Since 2000, she has been busy taking care of her husband and three children in Ukiah, a town in northern California. That means between soccer runs, gymnastic classes, and tons of laundry, she mostly gives up sleep to find time for writing! Who knows, her next great book just might be born staring into a clothes dryer!
Sources:
Author website
Author spotlight: Redwood Writers
Author spotlight: Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Author interview: Morgen’s Author Interviews
about the illustrator
Grace Zong was born in Illinois but moved to Korea when she was seven. When it came time to go to college, she decided to return to the United States to study illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Now she splits her time between her home in New York City and her home in Korea.
For the illustrations in Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, Grace decided to use acrylic paints on paper. She included a lot of humor (check out Papa Chan’s massage chair and the queen-size electric bed) in her layouts and added many details that told the reader a lot about the Chinese New Year. When you read the book, be sure to check out the parade that can be seen through the doors and windows of Goldy’s and the Chan’s apartments.
Sources:
Children’s book blog: WordPress
Illustrator bio: Abrams
Also by Grace Zong:
Orange Peel’s Pocket by Rose Lewis. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2010.
read more!
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A girl tells how her Chinese-American family prepares for the Lunar New Year. Ma-Ma makes get-rich dumplings, Ba-Ba hangs the spring happiness poems, sister Jie-Jie sweeps the old year out of the house, and little sister Mei Mei gets a haircut. They all dress up for the festivities. With the children carrying lanterns, they light the way for the costumed lion which will scare away last year’s bad luck and for the long undulating dragon that escorts in the New Year’s good luck.
A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-qiong
Mao Mao’s Chinese father builds houses in a city far away and can only come home during the New Year’s festivities. Once she warms up around her father, they enjoy the fresh snow, make sticky rice balls, and watch the dragon parade. Mao Mao is thrilled to find a coin her father hid in one of the rice balls. When the holiday is over, she watches sadly as her father’s bags are packed. As they say goodbye, she presses her new lucky coin into his hand.
The Runaway Wok : A Chinese New Year Tale by Ying Chang Compestine
A poor man in China works for the richest man in Beijing. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, he sends his son Ming out to trade their last eggs for a much-needed bag of rice. Instead Ming brings home a battered old wok! The father is sure they will starve to death. But the old wok, which is magical, rolls out the door and returns filled with all sorts of scrumptious food! Where did all the food come from?