This year Sam gets to spend his New Year's gift money any way he chooses. Shopping carefully in his favorite Chinatown stores, he is disappointed to find that everything he wants is too expensive. Deciding to forgo a tasty sweet or a new toy for himself, Sam donates his money instead to a barefoot homeless man. Full color.

Notable Books for a Global Society, International Literacy Association (ILA)
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Marion Vannett Ridgway Award Honoree, Marion Vannett Ridgway Award
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.