Double Happiness

Starred review from July 1, 2015
In this gentle tale told in verse, Gracie and her brother, Jake, journey to their new home, all the while searching for special things to keep in their happiness boxes. Gracie doesn't want to leave Uncle Woo, Auntie Su, and her beloved San Francisco home to move across the country. To ease their pain, Nai Nai gives Gracie and Jake happiness boxes in which to gather memories. She tells them: "Find four treasures each, / leading from this home / to your new." After goodbyes are exchanged and they set off, Gracie selects a stray eucalyptus leaf, a reminder of home, while Jake snatches a penny from the floor of the airport bus. The simple text gives off energy that is both reflective, as Gracie wonders about her new house, and joyful, as Jake finds a marble, filling his box first. Treasure choices reveal both siblings' personalities and dreams that finally allow Gracie to feel at home. Double happiness, traditionally a wish for newlyweds in Chinese culture, expands to key moments here: for sister and brother, for two memory boxes, and step by step, for a former home to a new one. Rendered in delicate watercolors and brush strokes, Chau's illustrations and calligraphy evoke calm in the midst of Gracie's anxieties and ethereal playfulness with Jake's ever present mystical dragon.A thoughtful and moving story of memory and change. (Picture book/poetry. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-This beautifully illustrated story in verse details the difficulties and discoveries involved in moving, as told through the experiences of a Chinese American family. Gracie and Jake are moving away from San Francisco and from their grandmother, aunt, and uncle. To help her grandchildren come to grips with this change, Nai Nai gives them each a happiness box to fill with four objects to help them go from their old to the new home. Each poem focuses on something small, like a stuffed panda, a eucalyptus leaf, or a new room, that adds new layers to Grace and Jake's stories. The poems, which are also titled in Chinese characters, detail the kids' physical and emotional journeys in simple but vivid language. The watercolor illustrations are soft but intensely colored, with eye-catching details. VERDICT This is a relatable book about coping with a move that would make a great recommendation for relocating families with young children.-Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.