What is New Year's like at your house? At my house, we always eat black-eyed peas for good luck on January 1st. It's been like that as long as I can remember.

Eating black-eyed peas is a tradition of the Keys family, too. But when Shante' comes for the New Year's dinner, Grandma Louise has forgotten to buy them! What could happen just because you don't eat some silly peas, you ask. Well, it means they'll have a year of bad luck!

When Grandma sends Shante' to find the peas, she finds out a lot about the New Year's customs of the neighbors. She finds out about Chinese New Year, Hogmanay in Scotland, New Year's Eve in Mexico and the Hindu Diwali celebration, but she doesn't find any peas! Is her family doomed? Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out what happens! The book rhymes so I think you'll have fun reading it! It was written with kids in grades Kindergarten through fourth in mind.

The illustrations were painted by Marion Eldridge, a terrific artist. You can visit Marion's web site at www.marioneldridge.com. Be sure to take a peek at the great trailer Marion made on YouTube for the book!

Shante' Keys and the
New Year’s Peas
ISBN 13: 978-0-8075-7330-3
Age Levels: 5-9
Grades: K-4
Pages: 32 • Size: 10.75 x 8.5
Illustrations: Full color
Library Binding