Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is a Classic

My story starts last weekend on one of my favorite holidays of all time-Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year is all about Traditions, like eating delicious food, spending time with your family, and getting red-and-gold envelopes from grown-ups with money inside. But most important of all, it’s about Traditions that bring you luck for the new year.
Which is why, on the morning of Chinese New Year, I had A LOT to do.
Especially because that day, Auntie Eva was coming to visit.
“Sun nien fai lok! Sun nien fai lok!” I yelled as I danced around the house, helping my mom get ready for Auntie Eva’s visit. “That means ‘happy new year!’ I shouted as I skipped by Gwendolyn’s high chair. It was her first Chinese New Year, so I knew it was my job to show her that it’s the best holiday ever. I’d been practicing my pronunciation with my Nai Nai because I wanted everything to be PERFECT.
And even though my mom said there wasn’t anything for me to do, I was a BIG help anyway. I ran around (and only sometimes bumped into her) to make sure that we were following as many Traditions as possible, to get as much luck as possible.
First, I got dressed in red clothes, which is very lucky. I’d wanted to wear my cheongsam, which is a beautiful Chinese dress. Mine is red and gold with pretty buttons at the neck. But my mom said no because it was too cold.
I was disappointed, but then I realized I could get even more luck by wearing every piece of red clothing I own. And I looked GREAT in my red pants, red dress, red polka-dot skirt over that, red sweater, red T-shirt, red headband, and red galoshes with ladybugs on them. Plus I was DEFINITELY warm enough, so even though my mom sighed when she saw me, she didn’t make me change.
Then I made sure to find all of Gwendolyn’s red clothes, because I’m a Good Big Sister that way. “You’re going to love today,” I told her as I helped her into red striped pajamas, red socks, a red T-shirt, a red sweater, and a sparkly red tutu. “We’re going to Chinatown, and there’s going to be a parade, and dragons, and the BEST food!”
“Bah!” Gwen said, clapping her hands, which meant she was definitely ex cited about it all (especially the excellent good-luck outfit I’d found for her). And she loved it when, as a finishing touch, I found a red scrunchie for her favorite toy, which is an old plush Batman doll that my dad used to keep in his study. (Because even superheroes need luck.) For my next job, I grabbed all the oranges from the kitchen and set out to put them all over the house. Oranges also bring luck on Chinese New Year, which makes sense because they’re delicious. Nai Nai usually keeps her oranges in a bowl on the dining room table, but I wanted to spread our luck everywhere. So, I put one orange in the silver ware drawer, one on top of the TV, two in the bathroom sink, one on Auntie Eva’s pillow, two underneath my parents’ pillows (as a surprise, for later), one in Gwendolyn’s toy box, one in her sock drawer, and one on my mom’s desk. I was just about to ask if we could go to the store to get more oranges when I heard the doorbell.
“Who are you?!” my dad yelled out, in his I’m joking voice.
So I ran to the door, yelling, “Auntie Eva!”
“Cilla!” Auntie Eva picked me up and spun me around. “Eva!” my mom said, coming to join in our hug. “Ba ba ga!” Gwendolyn also threw her hands out for a hug, beaming.
And then my dad joined in too.
Because everyone loves when Auntie Eva comes to stay.
Auntie Eva is my dad’s younger sister. She’s great at drawing, she’s AMAZING at playing finger puppets, and she’s a big fan of Selena Moon (which is my FAVORITE book series and possibly the best series of all time).
Sometimes we don’t see her for a while, because Auntie Eva travels a lot for her job. She’s been all over the world. But she always thinks of us, no matter where she goes, and she sends me pictures of the zoos or aquariums or museums she gets to visit on her trips. And whenever Auntie Eva’s here, she always sits with me before bed and braids my hair while we talk. It’s our special Tradition.
When Auntie Eva visits, she stays in my room, and my dad makes me a mini-tent in the living room. So after the hugging, there was lots of bringing suitcases upstairs and rushing to pick up the clothes I’d accidentally (maybe) thrown all over when I was looking for red things.
By the time everything was away and cleaned, my mom looked at her watch and said, “Wait, what time is the parade?!” So then there was even more rushing and running. But finally we piled into the car and sped off to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Chinatown was beautiful, and more crowded than I’ve ever seen it. Red and gold streamers dangled from windows and in between buildings. And all around, carts sold hot food and pastries, and the air was filled with happy voices and good smells.
Above us, flags with pictures of dogs hung from streetlights, because this is the Year of the Dog. Everyone is born into an animal year, and some of them are REALLY exciting, like the Year of the Dragon. I’m the Year of the Rat, which I used to be unhappy about (because rats are gross). But then Nai Nai told me that the Year of the Rat means I’m creative and smart, which is good news for my writing, so I felt better. (Plus I like mice, which are al most like rats, and I love cheese, so it all works out.)
We walked through the crowded streets until we finally found Nai Nai and Ye Ye in front of their favorite grocery store.
“Ye Ye!” I ran to meet him. “Sun nien fai lok!” “Wah!” Ye Ye said. This is a Chinese way of saying “wow!” or “amazing!” or “oh my goodness gracious me!” (which is something my Grandma Jenkins says when she’s really surprised). The way Ye Ye said it meant he was VERY impressed. “Sun nien fai lok, Cilla!” he said, spinning me around in a hug (which as you’ve maybe guessed, is another family Tradition). Then Nai Nai and Ye Ye hugged Auntie Eva (though she’s too tall for spinning).
We lined up on the sidewalk for the parade, and Auntie Eva started telling us about her last business trip, and how she visited a fancy aquaium where she got to pet stingrays on her day off.
“Wah, so many trips.” Nai Nai shook her head (she didn’t seem to hear the important part about the stingrays-I made a note to tell her later). “Don’t forget to be home, spend time with Paul,” Nai Nai said.
“Mom.” Auntie Eva half-sighed, half-laughed.
“Does he mind that you travel so much?” Nai
Nai asked.
“He knows my job is important to me,” Auntie Eva said with a smaller sigh. “Besides, he’s used to it. His family is really impressive and high-powered. They travel for work all the time.”
“Hmm.” Nai Nai sniffed. “Not good, all this travel,” she said.
“But, Nai Nai, you were excited when Dad got to go on a business trip,” I pointed out, confused. “You said it was good because he was moving up in the company.”
My dad snorted, and Auntie Eva grinned. “Well…” Nai Nai looked off to the side, like I do when I’m thinking (or trying not to get in trouble).
“So.” My mom clapped her hands. “Where are we eating after the parade?”
This is something called Changing the Subject, but I didn’t mind. Because just then, Auntie Eva took me to buy a moon cake. (See what I mean about Traditions? They always come back to cake in the end.)
Moon cakes are small and round with beautiful designs on top. Their outsides are thick and golden, and they’re filled with sweet paste and a salty egg. Auntie Eva and I split a lotus paste cake, which is our favorite, and she let me have the half with more yolk (which is one of the nicest things you can do for someone else).
We rushed back when we heard the popping of tiny firecrackers and the sound of drums, and Ye Ye swung me up on his shoulders so I could see above the crowd as the parade came toward us.