Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun bicultural tale of Chinese and Jewish New Year holidays.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
TWO NEW YEARS begins with the author telling readers, "My family celebrates two New Years: Rosh Hashanah in the fall and Lunar New Year in the spring." He goes on to explain how the the Chinese and Jewish calendars are different, and all the ways people in each culture celebrate: what they do, what they eat, and symbolic meanings.
Is It Any Good?
This fun look at a bicultural family's two different New Year traditions stresses each one's universal messages of hope and renewal. Two New Years encourages embracing all of your family's heritages. There's lots of information about how Chinese and Jewish families celebrate and find meaning in specific rituals and traditions. Author Richard Ho gives simple, kid-friendly explanations. And Lisa Scurfield's colorful, joyful, cartoon-like illustrations easily draw readers into the sights and sounds of both holidays.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the traditions shown in Two New Years. Which traditions and foods are familiar to you? Which sound like the most fun to you?
How does your family celebrate the arrival of the New Year?
Are you curious about how different cultures celebrate holidays? Are there any holidays that one side of your family celebrates one way and the other side celebrates another way?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Lynn Scurfield
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Holidays
- Character Strengths : Communication , Curiosity , Integrity
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Chronicle Books
- Publication date : August 23, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 3 - 5
- Number of pages : 44
- Available on : Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : ALA Best and Notable Books , Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate