Clear and Bright: A Ching Ming Festival Story

Written by Teresa Robeson
Illustrated by William Low
Published by Astra Young Readers

In this story about the Ching Ming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a young girl and her Chinese-American family come together to share memories of the past over a delicious feast.

In the spring, Lily and her relatives gather for the Ching Ming Festival to honor their beloved ancestors. The day is full of joy and community, but also reverence and remembrance. As Lily zips between playing Chinese checkers with her cousin and helping her grandparents prepare a delicious meal for the family, a second narrative unfolds to reveal the sacrifices her great-great-grandpa had to make to settle in America.

Both a tale honoring the efforts of the first Chinese American immigrants and a story of a family coming together, Clear and Bright is a celebration of Chinese heritage, cultural tradition, and the ancestral love that spans generations.

Primary ISBN: 9781662620317
Publication Date: March 2025
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Picture Book, Age 04 or older

Community Represented: Chinese/Chinese American

Themes: Celebrations, Celebrations: Ching Ming (Qingming), Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Celebrations & Traditions, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Food, Discrimination: Racial, Family Relationship: Extended, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Parents, Format: Audiobook, Generation: 3rd, Multilingual: Cantonese Featured Words, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Trauma & Healing: Death of Family or Friend

Setting: United States

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 3rd Generation

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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