Sanmu Tang

Little Mei is excited to welcome her aunt and uncle and cousin to her house in this Chinese picture-book, and asks her father about the holiday they are celebrating. He explains that it is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, when the moon is at its roundest, symbolizing the wholeness of the family, and he relates the folktale of the archer Houyi and his wife Chang'e, who became the maiden in the moon. Granny then claims Little Mei and her cousin Maomao, explaining how mooncakes are made, after which the family enjoy their feast together...

Although not the first picture-book I have read devoted to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Sanmu Tang's Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival is the first I have encountered that is from China itself. Originally published in Shanghai, it was translated into English by Mina Tenison, who also worked on some of Tang's other picture-books about various Chinese festivals. It pairs a simple text with cute illustrations, and follows a pattern I have noticed in books about this festival, including both some folkloric content and a story about a contemporary family's celebrations. Although I don't know that it is a favorite, when it comes to Mid-Autumn Moon Festival books - I prefer titles like Loretta Seto's Mooncakes or Arlene Chan's The Moon Festival: A Chinese Mid-Autumn Celebration - this is one I'd still recommend, in the absence of other titles, to picture-book readers looking for stories about this subject.… (mehr)