Mei Li wants to go to the New Year's fair, but little girls always stay home. This year, however, Mei Li decides to go anyway, and with three lucky pennies and three marbles in her pocket she follows her brother to the fair. But her brother teases her: "what can a girl do at the fair?" Mei Li and her brother compete as Mei Li tries to prove that girls can have just as much fun at the fair. But they must hurry back before the gates close, or they will miss the appearance of the Kitchen God who will tell them what to do in the coming year.
This is the 1939 Caldecott medal winner, and as was typical of picture books at that time the story is relatively long. Thomas Handforth spent many years in China and knew a little girl named Mei Li who was the inspiration for the title character. And Mei Li is a very likable character, very much like a real little girl. She is very ambitious, brave, and eager, despite her brother's disdain. Unfortunately the story is also mixed with fortune tellers and the real appearance of a "kitchen god." Though one interesting illustration features a skinny priest who tells children to throw a penny at the bell above his head for good luck, while he lays below and rakes in the pennies. Mei Li is a pleasant story with very detailed illustrations of China in Handforth's time. Sadly it is out of print and hard to find.
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