A village of mice prepares for Tet, or Vietnamese New Year, as different numbers of mice give gifts, cook food, and celebrate in other traditional ways. Includes an afterword with facts about the holiday. - (Baker & Taylor)

A village of mice prepares for Tet, or Vietnamese New Year, as different numbers of mice give gifts, cook food, and celebrate in other traditional ways, in a story with an afterword with facts about the holiday. - (Baker & Taylor)

Vibrant illustrations and simple text make this holiday book come to life as the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year takes place through music, flag waving, gift giving, feasting, and a grand fireworks display. - (Baker & Taylor)

It's time for Tet! This vibrant, unique counting book introduces children to the rich traditions of the Vietnamese New Year. A playful village of mice lead young readers through the joyful celebration, as exquisitely embroidered illustrations recreate ten scenes of preparation, gift giving, feasting, and firework displays. With simple text followed by an informative afterword,Ten Mice for Tet is a joyful tribute to a special holiday.

Honors for Ten Mice for Tet!:
2004 CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choices selection
Kirkus Reviews starred review
2004 Notable Books for a Global Society

It's time for Tet! This vibrant, unique counting book introduces children to the rich traditions of the Vietnamese New Year. A playful village of mice lead young readers through the joyful celebration, as exquisitely embroidered illustrations recreate ten scenes of preparation, gift giving, feasting, and firework displays. With simple text followed by an informative afterword, Ten Mice for Tet is a joyful tribute to a special holiday.

Honors for Ten Mice for Tet!:
2004 CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choices selection
Kirkus Reviews starred review
2004 Notable Books for a Global Society

Booklist Reviews

PreS-Gr. 2. In a traditional counting-book format, mice prepare for their Tet celebration, from "one mouse" that plans a party to "ten mice" that watch fireworks. The bright, lively pictures, which convey various activities associated with the Tet celebration, were drawn on paper and then transferred to cloth and embroidered in cotton thread. The bare-bones text is a vehicle for the vibrant art, but it does provide a festive introduction to Tet for young children. Older children will examine the embroidery and discover more information in the notes. Appended notes elaborate on the text, explaining Vietnamese customs and traditions. The notes also provide pronunciation assistance, noting regional variations. An excellent choice for multicultural studies, this handsome counting book deserves a place in most collections. ((Reviewed December 1, 2003)) Copyright 2003 Booklist Reviews

Horn Book Guide Reviews

This counting book offers a simple description of the activities surrounding the celebration of Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year (""1 mouse plans a party / 2 mice go to market""). A section at the back provides facts about the holiday and explains the importance of the details in the vibrantly colored embroidered art. This playful look at a cultural tradition can be used with a wide age range. Copyright 2004 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Readers and pre-readers alike will get generous measures of cultural information from this look at preparations for the Vietnamese New Year celebration. After "1 Mouse plans a party," "2 Mice go to market," and so on, "10 Mice watch fireworks," before closing at last with a merry "Chúc M?ng Nam M?i!" The illustrations, done in brightly hued embroidery so thick that it looks like brushed felt, feature stylized mice (they actually look more like whiskered pigs, but let it go) in traditional dress, happily cleaning, eating, exchanging gifts, playing musical instruments, and parading in a village setting. The authors enhance the minimal main text with extensive end notes, pointing out significant details while describing traditional foods, beliefs, and customs associated with Tet. Altogether, an inviting, informative introduction to the holiday--and the only separate title for younger readers that's not routine assignment fodder. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2003 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Weill, who worked for an international relief organization in Vietnam, Shea and Trang use a counting-book format to introduce readers to Tet-the Vietnamese new year-"as big a celebration as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas combined!" according to the helpful and extensive endnotes. The book serves as a marvelous showcase for Viet Dinh's embroidery; Trang's clean compositions provide the template for the embroidery. The story follows ever-growing groups of mice in a traditional Vietnamese village as they prepare for and enjoy the Tet festivities. Some aspects of the pictures will strike a chord with readers regardless of their background-three mice clean their home, six mice open presents, 10 mice admire a fireworks display. But the book also emphasizes how a culture's beliefs shape the observance of a holiday. As "1 mouse plans a party," for instance, sinewy white-thread clouds of incense rise from an altar and waft through the room (the endnote explains that the fragrance and offerings are meant to beckon ancestors). Older readers will most appreciate the pictures' exquisite craftsmanship-every inch of every spread is covered in thread-but the cheery cartoon mice, the vivid Southeast Asian palette (the use of pink is particularly striking) and exuberant compositions will hold the interest of even the youngest readers. This attractive volume may well provoke a lively discussion of how another culture's holiday can seem both familiar and exotic. Ages 2-8. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 3-This accessible counting book is a lovely introduction to the Vietnamese New Year. Each spread features a short sentence ("1 mouse plans a party. 2 mice go to market") that is expanded upon by detailed pictures showing the preparations of thevillage. Remarkable, vividly colored, embroidered artwork enhances the text. The textural quality is still perceptible even though the pieces have been photographed, and readers are able to see the individual stitches in this fine workmanship. A thin black outline highlights the bright, flat figures whose faces have a cartoonlike look. Extensive endnotes following the number sequence take readers back through the book and allow for a more comprehensive explanation of the holiday. In this section, Vietnamese words are followed by the pronunciation in parentheses. This multileveled approach allows this title to be used with children of a wide range of ages. An excellent addition to any collection.-Tali Balas, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.