Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations around the World

by Marilyn Singer, Susan L. Roth (Illustrator)

Around the world, people celebrate the start of the new year at midnight when December 31 becomes January 1. But not everyone celebrates on this date. In fact, during every month of the year, some group of people in some part of the world is celebrating the new year. Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February. Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, is celebrated on March 21. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated in September or October. Diwali, celebrated in parts of India, falls in October or November. All these celebrations, and many others, have unique traditions and festivities that people observe. This collection of poems pay tribute to several of these fascinating festivities, some well-known and some lesser-known. Go on a whirlwind international tour of these diverse celebrations--enough to fill a twelve-month calendar, and more.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Holiday, Childrens, Cultural, Juvenile

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2018

About the author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Reviews

[Antoinette Hollamon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is very clever but I don't think it pulled it off. The poems for each holiday were average and didn't make me want to engage with the content. The collage illustrations were magnificent and stunning, but they alone were not enough to make this book work reading.

My advanced reader copy had the pages all out of order and didn't help the flow of the book. It took more effort on my part than it should have to enjoy this children's book.

I would not recommend it.

Thank you Edelweiss+ for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good resource on New Year celebrations across the year and around the globe. Don’t miss the back matter with additional information about calendars and each holiday.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

As most of us have come to realize, the start of a new year is celebrated in many different ways as well as at different times across the globe. Eighteen poems describe the joys and practices of various cultures and individuals as they close the door on an old year and bring in a new one. Presented appropriately in a calendar format, the poems are all accompanied by stunning paper collage illustrations with lively colors and textures. Readers won't want to skip the list of 15 different New Year's greetings in the back matter or the snippets providing additional information about each of the celebrations highlighted here. While some such as the dropping of the ball at midnight in Times Square will be familiar, others such as Songkran in Thailand in April when the bad is washed away or Wep Ronpet or the smashing of the pots in Egypt in July won't be. Still, the entire book is culturally rich and the different festivities offer reasons to celebrate and start anew at any time of the year.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome collage illustrations; great poems.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated with with bright, bold collage work and a lovely poem or explanation of a country's tradition for each month of the year. The book is actually assembled in calendar form (inside). Some months have more than one description but it certainly takes on a year around the world in what various countries do to start a new year. I kind of like the water fight that goes on in Thailand to help "wash" away the year's debris and start fresh.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful concept for a poetry book, poems that explain or commemorate New Year celebrations (of all sorts!) in New York City, Scotland, Russia, Iran, Thailand, Jordan, New Zealand, Chile, Ancient Egypt, India, Ethiopia, Israel, Ecuador, Spain, and China!Susan L. Roth's illustration, done in cut paper, are equisite. A lovely anthology with great resources and information at the end.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are amazing and the poems taught me how people celebrate the new year around the world through culture or religion. I received a free copy from the publisher.

[Mrs. Mazzola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential to be great, but it misses the mark a bit in execution. New Year celebrations and holidays of light are a perennial topic in elementary classrooms, and I was excited to see a more diverse and global representation of those holidays than the typical classroom topics.
Also, the collage style illustrations are stunning. Unfortunately, the poems are a little flat, which is unexpected since I normally enjoy Marilyn Singer's poetry. Will still be popular and useful with teachers, so I will get a copy for my library.

*Thank you to Edelweiss+ and the publisher for a digital copy. All opinions are my own.

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems that look at different New Year's celebrations around the world, arranged by the month of the year in which they most frequently occur.

This was a great selection of different celebrations from all over the world. Along with the spread for the poem and an accompanying collage, there's further information about each celebration in the back of the book. For the most part the information appears to be solid. You can tell the author did research but hasn't personally experienced all of these. For instance, I have lived in Thailand for over a decade. Songkran, the Thai New Year, is one of the celebrations included. Some of the details she included may be true traditionally but I've never seen carried out in practice (she says that Thais build sand stupas for the holiday...but I've never seen one at all in 13 years of being here). The massive water fight part is true. She also says it is celebrated Apr 13-15, but sometimes the government decides to extend or tweak which days the holiday actually falls on. So based on that, I'm guessing most of the others are based on tradition and if you show up in the country for the holiday you may find it celebrated slightly differently than described as traditions change. Overall, though, it is a great collection and helps show that New Year is not always the January 1 celebration Westerners might first think of. The poetry is well done (though not as jaw-dropping as some of Singer's other collections). The collages are well done, but not necessarily in a style I prefer. Recommended for those studying international celebrations or looking for informational poetry.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

New years start all the time, not just on January 1st. Whether school years or sports seasons, we have traditions that go with our calendars. The informative poetry book Every Month Is a New Year takes readers around the world as the months turn to show how people celebrate their new year traditions. Singer’s short poems capture the essence of the holiday through a child’s first person viewpoint. The traditions range from water battles to fire cleansing, from food celebrations to dancing, and several ways to cleanse their souls and start anew. The detailed fabric collage that Roth weaves adds color and imagination to the mix, and the format of a full calendar that reads like it should be hung on your wall helps set the book apart. Informative text about the calendar systems through history and further descriptions, pronunciation, and sources for each new year are included toward the end. And since every end is a new beginning, readers may just want to turn the calendar and start anew!

THOUGHTS: This book would be an excellent addition to a poetry collection, and the diversity of people and places helps open the eyes of readers to unfamiliar traditions. They may be left with more questions after reading the poem and the description, so further inquiry should be expected.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World is a children's picture book written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Susan L. Roth. It is a collection of snippets of celebrations around the world. Today is New Year's (1 January), so I thought it would be apropos to read this book today.

Singer's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and poetic. This anthology of poems is based on the various New Years around the world separated in monthly pages. More detailed information of the New Years could be found in the backmatter. Roth's collage-like illustrations accompanied the text rather well, showing how each celebration was done.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Fittingly taking the shape of a calendar, this graceful grouping of more than a dozen poems showcases New Year celebrations, both secular and religious, from across the globe and throughout the year. The poems are framed by calendar-style grids filled with thematic collage elements, and dramatic scenes of shared meals and other festivities appear in the main images above.

All in all, Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World is a wonderful anthology of New Year poems depicting the various New Year’s celebration commemorated around the world.

[Tami Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher, this book speaks to me of the many ways I can use it to teach the standards in my classroom! I loved the fact that the author did so much research to find New Year celebrations from nearly every month of the year and from all around the world! The mix of Poetry and informative writing is also a welcome change from the simple, so-so, flat informative writing. The preview Kindle version of this book made it a little difficult to discern which illustrations went with which poems, but I know things will be changed around by the time the book is published. I did wish there were a few more illustrations to show more of the holidays and celebrations. Perhaps there will be in the final version also. Thank you to Lee & Low Books, and to Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book. I'll definitely be purchasing this for use in the classroom!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful collage work in this poetry book gets a 5+ star rating from me, but the poetry did not win with me like other Singer poetry has. With so many unfamiliar words from unfamiliar celebrations, I was unsure of what some of the celebrants were actually doing to ring in the new year. Along with a glossary and pronunciation key, the back matter filled in those unknowns for me with great descriptions of ways that other countries recognize the beginning of a new year. But most elementary aged students who would be drawn to the great illustrations and picture book size are not likely to read any of the extras. Art teachers, however, should combine “Every Month” with works by Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert to inspire students to create their own collages. Elementary libraries looking to represent other cultures will likely want this one.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Month is a New Year written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Susan L. Roth is a cozy look at how different cultures celebrate the New Year. The poems are hit or miss, with some being delightful and evocative and others being a bit awkward and dull. But regardless of the quality of each poem, the mixed-media collages accompanying them are all beautiful, energetic, celebratory. Included at the end is a short discussion of various calendars, a description of each celebration mentioned in the poems, a glossary of words, a glossary of New Year's greetings from around the world, and a bibliography of all the author's sources. This is a well-researched, informative, and fun overview of New Year's.

[Laura Giessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazing resource full of loads of information in the back matter on all kinds of new year celebrations. Set up like a calendar, the collage illustrations are stunning. I wasn't captivated by the poems, and I was overwhelmed by the content. I wouldn't recommend reading this book straight through as there is too much background knowledge required and too much to assimilate in one sitting, for sure; but still, a beautiful and informative resource.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful to look at calendar book about a variety of cultural celebrations. It would be a great reference book for middle grade and middle school students. With some paraphrasing, I used it to show my first grade students that their new year celebration was not the only one of its kind. There was plenty of information that they could understand, and they appreciated the beautiful art, as young as they are.

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the pictures made of cut fabric. Each spread was something to look at and be amazed. The poems didn't really engage me but I think the concept of the book will show children that there are lots of ways to celebrate and each has value. Lots of back matter on each holiday at the end of the book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But what is true and what is clear is that all of us hope for a luminous year.”

A great book about all the different types of celebrations around the world that denote a new year. Really cool book.

Includes in-depth information about each celebration and a pronunciation guide in the back of the book.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free verse poems and colorful mixed-media collage illustrations create a calendar of celebrations of the new year around the world, including the midnight ball drop in Times Square in New York City (December 31); Songkran, the Thai New Year Celebration in Thailand (April 13 to 15); and Diwali, the five-day Hindu Festival of Lights, in India in November.

[JoEllen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marilyn Singer & Susan Roth’s #EveryMonthIsANewYear is filled with poetry and more for celebrations to nurture, and honor the diverse aspects of our children, their culture & their stories. Bonus back matter adds #NfJoy for further exploration.

[Michelle Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shares a great deal of information about the celebrating of a new year around the world. As far as the poems themselves, they aren’t my favorite of this fabulous author’s work, but I really enjoyed the art.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the collage illustrations, but the actual text falls flat. I would rather this have been a more traditional nonfiction book with the information in the back matter included in the body. The poems could have been sidebars.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set up to open like a calendar. The author takes us through the entire year and the different New Year celebrations from around the world.
Don't miss the information on each holiday at the end of the book.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea behind this, but I don't know if it will work as a read aloud. The poems didn't go into much depth explaining the holidays, and the explanations in the back are too wordy for a read aloud.

Curriculum Tie-Ins -New Year, new year celebrations around the world, poetry, cultures

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into different New Year Celebrations around the world- and they just don't fall on January 1st! Presented in first as poems for each month then includes more details for each holiday at the end of the book- as well as a glossary. Lots of content!

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, beautifully illustrated look at new years celebrations around the world. I learned a lot about different cultural events, calendars etc. I love that the illustrations are collages made from paper around the world. A great multicultural celebration!

[K8 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was about to let the poem using the term “Chinese New Year” to represent Lunar New Year pass until I saw the back material “explaining” that Chinese New Year is celebrated throughout Asia. Um...no. That would be Lunar New Year.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I look through this book I see and learn something new. The information and collages are enlightening and lively. Lively as in have LIFE! An essential addition to elementary and children's collections.

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this on library display -- took in the title in my peripheral vision, and it called to my heart, and I put it in my bag. I've often thought and felt this.

The execution did nothing for me. But the cover opened an excitement for me that the content didn't spoil.