"A collection of original poems about New Year celebrations throughout the year and around the world. Includes an introduction about worldwide New Year celebrations plus a map, information about calendars, New Year greetings in many languages, additional factual information about the celebrations, and author's sources"--

For two joyous weeks red is all around. The color represents luck and happiness. Children receive money wrapped in red paper, and friends and loved ones exchange poems written on red paper. The Chinese New Year is also an opportunity to remember ancestors, and to wish peace and happiness to friends and family. The holiday ends with the Festival of Lanterns, as many large communities stage the famous Dragon Dance. Fireworks, parades, lanterns, presents,...

Ava Gabriela is excited to celebrate the New Year with her extended family in Colombia, but being around her loud relatives in an unfamiliar place makes her shy and quiet. Includes author's note and glossary of Spanish words.

"There's chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year's Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD detective Reňe Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party. Ballard quickly concludes that the deadly bullet could not...