Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Select delivery location
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Karen Chinn
+ Follow
Ying-Hwa Hu
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sam and the Lucky Money School & Library Binding – January 1, 1995

by Karen Chinn (Author), Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator), Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 127 ratings
Teachers' pick
See all formats and editions

Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association (IRA)
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Marion Vannett Ridgway Award Honoree
Pick of the List, American Bookseller's Association
Story Pick, Storytime, PBS

During Chinese New Year, a young boy encounters a homeless person and discovers that no gift is too small when it comes from the heart.

Sam can hardly wait to go shopping with his mom. It's Chinese New Year's day and his grandparents have given him the traditional gift of lucky money-red envelopes called leisees (lay-sees). This year Sam is finally old enough to spend it any way he chooses. Best of all, he gets to spend his lucky money in his favorite place - Chinatown!

But when Sam realizes that his grandparents' gift is not enough to get the things he wants, his excitement turns to disappointment. Even though his mother reminds him that he should appreciate the gift, Sam is not convinced - until a surprise encounter with a stranger.

With vivid watercolor paintings, artists Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu celebrate the sights and sounds of festive Chinatown streets. In her picture book debut, author Karen Chinn tells the affecting story of a child who discovers that sometimes the best gifts come from the heart.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    4 - 7 years
  2. Print length
    32 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 3
  5. Lexile measure
    AD660L
  6. Dimensions
    7.9 x 0.4 x 10.18 inches
  7. Publisher
    Turtleback Books
  8. Publication date
    January 1, 1995
  9. ISBN-10
    0613058224
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0613058223
  11. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

From the Publisher

Turtleback Books Logo Cover Image

The Turtleback Difference

Turtleback Book Anatomy

Bound for Schools & Libraries

Turtleback Books transforms paperbacks into sturdy hardcover editions that stand up to heavy use, resulting in cost savings over time. Turtleback Books stands by its workmanship and quality of materials for the life of the book. With more than 50 years of binding experience, Turtleback Books is committed to providing the best quality pre-bound books.

Turtleback Books Classroom

Turtleback logo

Turtleback Books Libraries

Perfect for Classrooms

Fill your classroom with books that will last for decades with their dependable, hardback covers and durable spines.

Savings Over Time

Schools average replacing 5-10% of paperbacks yearly due to classroom wear and tear. Switch to Turtleback to save your school and library hundreds.

Perfect for Libraries

We offer thousands of titles to meet the demands of library and classroom environments. Turtleback Books stands by its superior binding for the life of the book, saving money and time.

Kindergarten Here I Come Hardcover The Name Jar Greek Heros by Percy Jackson On Writing Well The long walk by stephen king
Kindergarten Here I Come The Name Jar Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes On Writing Well The Long Walk
See Details
Customer Reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
20,529
4.8 out of 5 stars
4,047
4.8 out of 5 stars
4,453
4.7 out of 5 stars
5,166
4.3 out of 5 stars
11,620
Price $14.50 $12.86 $21.53 $26.61 —
Author D. J. Steinberg Yangsook Choi Rick Riordan William Zinsser Stephen King
Ages 3 -6 years 5 - 9 years 9+ 12+ 18+
Genre Picture Book Picture Book Mythology Writing Horror
Durable hardcover laminated with polyester film ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Book length 32 pages 40 pages 528 pages 336 pages 400 pages
Book size 8.1 x 0.4 x 7.9 inches 8.25 x 0.5 x 10.75 inches 5.5 x 1.6 x 8.1 inches 5.4 x 1 x 7.9 inches 4 x 1 x 7.25 inches

Turtleback Library Binding for Books that Last

Turtleback Books

Turtleback Books, a Division of Perfection Learning

Turtleback Books offers reinforced library bindings for maximum durability for the lifetime of the book. We are dedicated to providing our customers with the most popular titles in high quality hardcover library binding. Working directly with wholesalers and retailers, we offer a thousands of book titles for classrooms and libraries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association (IRA)
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Marion Vannett Ridgway Award Honoree
Pick of the List, American Bookseller's Association
Story Pick, Storytime, PBS

About the Author

Karen Chinn (1959-2003) was born in Seattle, Washington, and received a bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Washington. She lived in Seattle, WA with her husband and daughter. Sam and the Lucky Money was her first picture book.

Cornelius Van Wright and his wife Ying-Hwa Hu have illustrated dozens of award-winning books. Their illustrations have been praised by Kirkus Reviews as "bright, detailed and dynamic, vividly depicting . . . characters' facial features and personalities." Van Wright, a native New Yorker, lives in New York City.

Ying-Hwa Hu and her husband Cornelius Van Wright have illustrated dozens of award-winning books. Their illustrations have been praised by Kirkus Reviews as "bright, detailed and dynamic, vividly depicting . . . characters' facial features and personalities." Hu, who was born in Taiwan, lives in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Turtleback Books; Bound for Schools & Libraries ed. edition (January 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • School & Library Binding ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0613058224
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0613058223
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD660L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 3
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.9 x 0.4 x 10.18 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 127 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Ying-Hwa Hu

    Ying-Hwa Hu

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Trained to be a classroom teacher, Ying-Hwa Hu entered into picture books by answering a publisher’s search of illustrators for a book series. From then on she continued to illustrate, often collaborating with her husband, Cornelius Van Wright, more than fifty children’s books. Many of her picture books depict life of children from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Hu and Van Wright together launched Pencilmoon Studio https://www.pencilmoonstudio.com/ to showcase their voice in art making. Ying-Hwa's solo debut, Ten Blocks to the Big Wok, (Lee & Low 2022) is a happy and colorful celebration of Chinese culture. Visit https://www.yinghwahu.com/ to learn more.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Karen Chinn

    Karen Chinn

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
127 global ratings
Beautiful story and illustrations
4 Stars
Beautiful story and illustrations
Love the story but the book arrived damaged.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Real customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite to add cultural awareness to your child’s library
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
We loved this book as a way to show our young Chinese-American daughter how others also celebrate the Lunar New Year with red envelopes and to promote giving from the heart. We would read it to her as a bedtime story when she was in preschool and kindergarten.

We bought more copies for birthday gifts for other children with birthdays close to the Lunar New Year to increase awareness and share our cultural tradition with them. We give the book with red envelopes with lucky money so they can learn more about other cultures and celebrate how kind-hearted children are loved and treasured.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
20BIGRED02
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Chinese New Year Gift for 5 1/2 year old -- wonderful moral to the story!
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
I bought this on a whim as a Chinese New Year gift for my 5.5 year old son and I'm so glad that I did. He and I both enjoyed reading this book immensely, and it has such a wonderful moral to the story. The illustrations are so colorful and beautiful and inspired us to do several drawings and paintings of our own for a new year craft project. I will be purchasing several more to give away as gifts to family members' children for next lunar new year. I highly recommend this to any teacher or parent interested in expanding their multicultural library.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Josette G.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic to Share
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
I love this story and it’s been a while since I had shared it. I’m so glad I was able to get my own copy of the book. My students loved the shared reading and learning about the Chinese New Year. They equally loved the theme about being grateful for a loving family.
Helpful
 Report
Caroline B.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Book For Children With A Lesson For Everyone
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Sam receives "lucky money" from his grandparents. They tell him he can spend it any way he likes. Sam discovers the amount of his gift is not enough to buy the treats he considers but is too much to waste foolishly. When he notices that a homeless man he knows has bare feet he uses the money to buy the man a pair of socks. It is a touching story. I bought it for my grandson whose name is Sam and included some lucky money for him to spend as he wished.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
S.A.G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Lucky Find
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2010
Verified Purchase
My daughter really liked this book and we enjoyed reading it several times together. I appreciated the fact that like my daughter Sam is a Chinese child being raised in the United States with his parents working to carry on traditions.
On a side note we have been to NYC and Chicago since reading this book and my 5-year-old had an understanding of homeless people and wanted to give each one money as we walked by, I appreciate this book just for opening her heart to the needs of others.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
NYC Gal Out☆
4.0 out of 5 stars Very cute!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
A very cute story that's great for children to read themselves. The illustrations are also very nice, and it's a symbolic story about doing good; kind of like a Western Christmas story about the meaning of giving on such a high holy day.
Helpful
 Report
Chris Greene
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Chinese New Year Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
As an elementary school teacher, I love this book and I always try to read this to my students around the Chinese New Year. It is a wonderful story of a boy who receives a special monetary gift for the holiday. As he shops around, he learns a valuable lesson and gives of himself in an unselfish way to help a stranger in need. A great read aloud with excellent social studies connections.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
DA BEARS
5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching Kindness
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
As a 3rd grade teacher, I love using this book to teach children about kindness and paying it forward ... great book!
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Tigerlily101
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Very good story about kindless.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2011
Verified Purchase
Bought this book with the intention of teaching my 4 years old about Chinese New Year. I was pleasantly surprise by the depth of the story. Not only does it introduce the custom of Chinese new year and how the Chinese celebrate their new year, it also tells a tale of being kind to others and not to be selfish. My son was deeply touch by the story and understood the tale without any difficulty.
Report
Mrs M
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely story and illustrations
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
Lovely story with detailed illustrations. We used this with Year 2 children to talk about financial capability within our PSHE unit.
Report
Jenny P
5.0 out of 5 stars Bought it to use as part of PSHE programme with ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
Bought it to use as part of PSHE programme with 6/7year olds. Totally engaged them and provoked a lot of discussion about the difference between needs and wants.
Report
ratticus1
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent PSHE book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2012
Verified Purchase
Excellent book, purchased for school, KS1 PSHE/Citizenship, as recommended on the Cambridgeshire scheme of work. Delivery was super speedy as ever, children are really enjoying the story and it offers lots of discussion possibilities.
Report
Aikoshoppio
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
Beautiful illustrations and heartwarming moral tale
Report