Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!” The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude. Endnotes explain more about Chinese New Year traditions but do not address why the evil monster here is a dragon when dragons in Chinese folklore are traditionally auspicious creatures.Ī charming retelling of a Chinese legend despite some liberties taken. Wispy illustrations paying homage to Chinese brush painting illuminate this retelling and its spunky female lead, giving new details and a refreshing twist to a famous Chinese story. With each return of the dragon, another New Year’s tradition is explained, until finally she defeats the dragon for good. She tells everyone to wear red and light lanterns. A few days later it returns, and she discovers that it is afraid of fire and the color red. She tells the villagers to bang on pans and light firecrackers, scaring the monster off. The next day, clever Mei discovers that the dragon is afraid of loud noises. But each spring, the spell’s strength weakens and Nian awakes to fill his empty stomach-he especially likes eating boys and girls! One night, little Mei dreams of the magical warrior, who charges her with defeating the monster. In Loh-Hagan’s account, a fierce dragon named Nian ruled the land until a magical warrior’s spell forced him underground. This retelling of a Chinese legend explains why people light firecrackers, wear red, and give food offerings to celebrate Chinese New Year.
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