Tet Mice for Tet by Pegi Deitz Shea and Cynthia Weill, illustrations by To Ngic Trang, embroidery by Pham Viet Dinh

Ten Mice for Tet is a beautiful hardcover book that I know will be read often as Ella gets older. We bought this book before we even received our referral, and it helped my husband and I become more familiar with the Vietnamese New Year celebration. It’s the only children’s book about Tet that I have found so far; luckily, I think it’s wonderful!

The book follows the story of ten different mice in Viet Nam preparing for and celebrating Tet. It is as much a counting book as it is a book about Tet. It begins with “One mouse plans a party” and continues until “Ten mice watch fireworks”. The text is simple and there is a two page spread for each number and event. The pictures are rich with detail and they will encourage more discussion about what’s going on in the background of the story.

The pictures are beyond gorgeous! Each picture was actually embroidered by hand and then photographed for the book with a special camera. The illustrator first drew the pictures, then the embroiderer stitched them. I have never seen a book that’s pictures were actually embroidery.

I really enjoyed the section at the end of the book that goes into more detail about what each mouse was doing in the story. It tells all about Tet in terms that a child (and adult) can easily understand. I may actually use some of the treats that the mice eat in the book at our family’s Tet party! This book also includes the phonetic spellings of many Vietnamese words, although the pronunciation can vary from province to province.
This book is just perfect for teaching your child about the Vietnamese New Year, counting and the Vietnamese culture.