Gigi Morales David

Two young boys attend the Tet (Vietnamese New Year) celebration at their Sunday School in this picture-book published by the United Way of Northeast Florida, listening to their teacher's story of his last Tet in Vietnam, before his family was forced to flee the country, and seek refuge in the USA. Mr. Cam tells the children how his family celebrated this occasion, and the red envelopes he and his brothers and cousins were given, with money and letters of advice from their grandmother. The retelling includes a folktale that Mr. Cam's aunt would relate, "The Buffalo, the Tiger and Intelligence." The story concludes with the red envelopes that Mr. Cam gives out to his own students, which contain an American flag pin, and a reminder to be grateful for the freedom that this country gives to its citizens. At the rear of the book are two short essays written by high school seniors Thuyan Tran and Marissa Marcell, detailing the interviews they conducted with Mr. Nhon Le, a real-life Vietnamese immigrant whose story inspired the fictional tale of Mr. Cam...

One of a number of picture-books published as part of the United Way of Northeast Florida's "Life: Act 2" initiative, which seeks to instill in young people an appreciation for the value of their elders, and their experience, wisdom and stories, The Little Red Envelopes pairs an engaging fictional story from author Gigi Morales David with two fascinating snippets of biography, as written by Tran and Marcell. What an amazing idea, to have high school students interview elderly members of their community, to learn their life stories, and gain an appreciation for how their experiences have shaped their world view. The elderly are too often isolated in our society, so pairing them with young people in a creative endeavor like this helps to solve two interrelated problems: the loneliness of so many of our older citizens, and the lack of appreciation for their elders, on the part of some of our younger citizens. Fabulous! I initially sought this one out because I was looking for children's stories about Tet - which it definitely provided - but I ended up appreciating it far more as a story about intergenerational friendship and respect. The accompanying artwork here from illustrator Dana Kleiman Garfinkel is colorful, although not really to my taste. Despite that, I would recommend this one, both to those seeking (as I was) children's stories about the Vietnamese celebration of Lunar New Year, and to those wanting books which teach children to appreciate and respect the elderly.… (mehr)