The Tray of Togetherness

Written and illustrated by Flo Leung

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-462-7

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

November 2022 

While one part of the world has just celebrated the shift of the year from 2022 to 2023, another community will be preparing for the Lunar New Year on January 22. Across Asia and Asian diaspora globally, preparations are being made to ensure an advantageous Chinese New Year. There will be cleaning of households, purchasing of new clothes and fireworks, decorating with red lanterns and more, and, finally, the preparing of food for a multi-generational family dinner. And part of that meal will  be a tray of togetherness, a platter of sweets that carries tradition, good wishes and hospitality. 

From The Tray of Togetherness by  Flo Leung

With the arrival of her grandmother, a child knows it's time to start getting ready for the new year's party to celebrate the "new moon that begins each brand-new year." But first, they must head out to the shops to buy all the goodies to fill their tray of eight sections, a lucky number that "means our happiness will grow and grow." Each purchase is selected with care and meaning. From the candied winter melon for good health, candies for a sweet life and the pistachios for happiness, delectables are procured so that they might be shared along with good wishes.

From The Tray of Togetherness by  Flo Leung

Then the child and her family share those treats and accompanying good wishes with others, including at a red-festooned New Year party that brings family together both in person and virtually to celebrate.

Whether you are a young reader whose family will be celebrating the Lunar New Year or a teacher or parent who wants to use this new year as a teachable moment about heritage and diversity of celebrations, The Tray of Togetherness will foster a fellowship of understanding and appreciation. This may be Toronto illustrator Flo Leung's first picture book, but she knows food, she knows art, and she knows her family's traditions. Together she has created an explosion of brightness and comfort in her words and her illustrations and informs about traditions for the Lunar New Year. There is a warmth in her colours, with red, orange and gold emphasized throughout, and an invitation to share in the family's festivities and good fortune. Flo Leung, who specializes in food and culinary illustration, knows how to create enticing food images, whether in the form of a market stall, a tray of sweets or a bowl of fruit. But it's her people who welcome us into their world to bask in their conviviality and intimacy of familial celebration.

From The Tray of Togetherness by Flo Leung

Whether your family is celebrating the Lunar New Year with family and your own tray of togetherness or with a reading of The Tray of Togetherness, I wish you happiness and bounty for the new year.