Gisela Jernigan, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Written in the first person, a young Chinese-American boy takes us on a tour of Chinatown, where he lives with his parents and grandma. Through the simple, natural text and bright oil paintings, we accompany the boy and his grandma on their daily walk through Chinatown as they visit the street cobbler, herb shop, seafood restaurant, and outdoor market. Chinese New Year celebrations are described at the end of the book. This would be a good multicultural book for a very young audience. 1997, Holt, $15.95. Ages 3 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1997)
A fictionalized walking tour of New York's Chinatown at the time of the New Year celebration, conducted by a young Chinese-American boy and his grandmother. Together they make their way through the crowded, colorful streets, into shops and restaurants, and past street vendors. They watch the traditional New Year's Day parade and lion dance, and wish each other "Gung hay fat choy." Low's full-bleed oil paintings glow with red, gold, green, and turquoise; as is true of Low's work for Elaine Moore's Good Morning, City (1995), the pages are full of atmospheric lighting effects, as when morning sun first strikes the upper stories of the buildings, then streams through a window into the dark, dusty interior of an herbal shop, or when flames leap beneath a huge restaurant wok, or firecrackers spark and jump about the great tossing head of the New Year's lion. Readers will enjoy comparing Low's paintings with some similar scenes (roasted ducks hanging in a restaurant window, an open-air fishmonger, youngsters training in a kung fu studio, the squat black drum and colorful banners in the parade) photographed by Martha Cooper for Kate Waters's Lion Dancer (1990). 1997, Henry Holt, $15.95. © 1997 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

L. Mathison (Parent Council Volume 5)
A day in Chinatown can be quite busy, especially if it is Chinese New Year's Day. A boy and his grandmother walk through the streets taking care of their errands and enjoying the parade. This book makes you feel like you are visiting Chinatown. 1997, Henry Holt and Company, $15.95. Ages 3 to 8.

Mark I. West (The Five Owls, November/December 1997 (Vol. 12, No. 2))
When Hilary Rodham Clinton's book It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us came out in 1996, it sparked a lively debate about the relationship between children and their villages. Often, during this debate, the old African saying that "it takes a village to raise a child" was interpreted as a metaphor concerning the government's role in the child-rearing process. This saying, however, can also be interpreted in a more literal way. William Low's vibrant picture book Chinatown provides an excellent example of how children can benefit from interacting with their neighbors. Chinatown follows a Chinese-American boy and his grandmother as they walk through New York's Chinatown, stopping at various places along the way. They visit an herbal shop, have lunch at a crowded seafood restaurant, watch a tai chi class, buy snapping crabs at an outdoor market, and observe a street parade. For nearly each stop, Low provides a double-spread illustration. Like the streets of Chinatown, Low's illustrations are crammed with life and color. His pictures beautifully capture the sights, sounds, smells, and spirit of Chinatown. Low's book shows how children can absorb all sorts of information and insights simply by taking walks through their neighborhoods. By strolling along with his grandmother, the boy in Low's story learns about his cultural heritage, his grandmother's values, adult work roles, and the interconnected nature of community businesses. For the boy in this book, Chinatown is his village, and as such it plays an important role in his education and in the formation of his identity. 1997, Henry Holt, 9 x 12, 32 pages, $15.95. Ages 4 to 9.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1997)
With rich colors and authentic details, Low takes readers on a tour of Chinatown. A young boy briefly describes his daily walk with his grandmother through their Chinatown neighborhood, his kung fu lessons on Saturdays, and his favorite holiday (Chinese New Year). The book presents a clear and colorful, though somewhat familiar, picture of one aspect of city life. Category: Fiction. 1997, Holt, 32pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.