Someone's Been Eating My Congee? Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

Goldy Luck was born in the Year of the Dragon.

"This child will bring us luck!" said her mother.

Her father pointed out that her face was as round as a gold coin.

"She'll bring great wealth!" he said.

But Goldy wasn't lucky. She lost her Grandmother's New Year's gift and her piggy bank was always empty.

One Chinese New Year's Day, Goldy's mom woke her up early to take the greeting, Kung Hei Fat Choy, to their neighbors, the Chan's, with a plate of hot turnip cakes to share with Little Chan.

"But Ma Ma, I am still sleepy, and I'm SO hungry," Goldy moaned.

"Be nice, or you'll have bad luck," her mom warned.

Goldy trudged next door with the turnip cakes. When her knock gets no answer, she pushes against the door and stumbles, spilling the warm turnip cakes all over the floor. Slumping off into the kitchen to find a broom, she notices three bowls of congee waiting on the table. She was still hungry, so she tried the big bowl. Way too watery! The medium bowl was lumpy, But the little bowl was delicious and all gone before Goldy knew it. Now she was not hungry, but she was still sleepy.

She tried Papa Chan's big massage chair.

Something hard steamrollered her back! OUCH!

Mama Chan's chair made Goldy feel like a stuffed pork bun, and apparently Little Chan's chair was too rickety, since one of the rockers cracks! So far, Goldy's luck is all bad!

But still sleepy, she heads for the bedroom, where she finds Papa Chan's big bed feels like a stale almond cake.

The electric bed folds her up like a dumpling!

And that's how the returning Chan family finally found Goldy Luck sound asleep in Little Chan's cozy futon!

But all's well that ends with New Year's luck after all, when Goldy Luck takes her own warm breakfast bowl of congee over for Little Chan and together they make turnip cakes for all, in Natasha Yim's Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (Charlesbridge Publishing), a jolly fractured fairy tale which introduces Chinese New Year to the picture book set with her version of the oft-parodied Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It's always good luck when good neighbors get together with a Kung Hei Fat Choy for everyone.
(The author appends a recipe for turnip cakes--which also contain shrimp and sausage.)

I Vant to Be Alone! Pardon Me! by Daniel Miyares

It's roosting time, and an odd yellow bird apparently has had a bad day. Cruising over the swamp, he lands on a small hummock and settles his feathers grumpily to rest.

But some other creatures have the same idea. A big white crane soon plops down beside him. The yellow bird is peeved.

A friendly frog hops ashore and politely asks permission to join them. The yellow bird is aggrieved. A turtle crawls up and asks politely for space. Yellow bird replies sarcastically:

"PARDON ME?"

"SURE, THE ENTIRE SWAMP'S HERE ALREADY.

WHY SHOULDN'T YOU BE?"

Yellow bird's feathers are ruffled, and he's spoiling for a fight, when a fox jumps over and speaks with some urgency.

"PARDON ME, BUT YOU'RE SITTING ON A ..."

Yellow bird has had it with the interlopers, the whole lot of them!

"WELL, PARDON ME! THIS IS MY PERCH! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Suddenly the whole lot of them fly, swim, and leap away. Yellow Bird settles down, self-satisfied at the way he dispatched the squatters. Alone at last.

Or not. What did the fox want to say? Just that that hummock in the swamp isn't what it seems. With an artful page turn we see that it's... an alligator, one who also wants to be alone. Right after dinner.

BURP!

PARDON ME!

There's safety in numbers is the wry premise of Daniel Miyares' Pardon Me! (Simon and Schuster, 2014). His main character's end comes ironically, but not regrettably, in this tart little swamp fable that will surprise and tickle the funny bones of kids who loved Jon Klaasen's notable I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat. Miyares' illustrations are equally spare and effective and display an artful use of color to set off this story of a just comeuppance... and a lot more.