favorite chinese new year books for kids
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chinese new year is our favorite holiday! for more about this holiday and how we celebrate, see this post. one way we get in the spirit is by reading fun books. we have collected a number of fabulous children’s books about chinese new year over the years and want to share our favorites with you. i hope you enjoy this list and find something new to share with the kiddos in your life!
chinese new year books for children under 5
12 lucky animals by vickie lee and illustrated by joey chou: the adventure loving dragon, the carefree horse, and the artistic goat are just three of the 12 lucky animals to be found in the chinese zodiac. use the wheel on the back cover to help little readers discover who their lucky animal is and how to pronounce its name in chinese and english. bookshop.org
jet celebrates the new year by virginia yang: follow along as jet celebrates new year’s day! learn the significance and activities that go into asia’s most important holiday, lunar new year’s day. eat dumplings, light lanterns, and pick flowers with colorful and elegantly designed illustrations to captivate your child’s imagination.
bringing in the new year by grace lin: this exuberant story follows a chinese american family as they prepare for the lunar new year. each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. there will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the lunar new year. bookshop.org
chinese new year wishes by jillian lin and illustrated by shi meng: it is hong's favorite time of the year. his whole family celebrates. it is the chinese new year. follow hong as he and his family prepare for and celebrate the chinese new year festival. bookshop.org
my first chinese new year by karen katz: chinese new year is a time of new beginnings. follow one little girl as she learns how to welcome the coming year and experience all the festivities surrounding it. bookshop.org
kiddo reads a chinese new year book called “sam and the lucky money”
chinese new year books for kids over 5
ruby’s chinese new year by vickie lee and illustrated by joey chou: Ruby has a special card to give to her grandmother for Chinese New Year. But who will help her get to grandmother’s house to deliver it? Will it be clever Rat, strong Ox, or cautious Rabbit? Ruby meets each of the twelve zodiac animals on her journey. bookshop.org
nian the chinese new year dragon by virginia loh-hagan and illustrated by timothy banks: mei hates springtime. why? because it's only in the spring that nian, a fierce dragon, is able to leave his mountain prison under the sea to terrorize the local village. when the villagers hear the rumblings of nian's hungry stomach, they know that winter has ended and spring is coming. but this year on the night before the first day of spring, a magical warrior visits mei in her dreams. he tells mei that it is her destiny to face and defeat nian. but she must do it within 15 days or the dragon will be free forever. bookshop.org
long-long’s new year by catherine gower and he zhihong: long-long accompanies his grandfather into the city to sell cabbages in order to buy food and decorations for the new year. selling cabbages is harder than long-long expects, and he encounters many adventures before he finds a way to help his grandfather, and earn new year's treats for his mother and little cousin. bookshop.org
goldy luck and the three pandas by natasha yim and illustrated by grace zong: it's chinese new year, and goldy luck’s mother wants her to take a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors. the chans aren’t home, but that doesn’t stop goldy from trying out their rice porridge, their chairs, and their beds—with disastrous results. bookshop.org
the race for the chinese zodiac by gabrielle wang and illustrated by sally rippin: long ago in ancient china, the jade emperor proclaimed a mighty race. “the first twelve animals to cross the river will each have a year named after them,” he announced. follow along to see who crosses the finish line - and who doesn’t.
the runaway wok by ying chang compestine and illustrated by sebastià serra: when a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they'll eat for dinner. but then the wok rolls out of the poor family's house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man's home with a feast in tow! bookshop.org
friend are friends, forever by dane liu and illustrated by lynn scurfield: on a snowy lunar new year’s eve in northeastern china, it’s dandan’s last night with yueyue. tomorrow, she moves to america. the two best friends have a favorite wintertime tradition: crafting paper-cut snowflakes, freezing them outside, and hanging them as ornaments. as they say goodbye, yueyue presses red paper and a spool of thread into dandan’s hands so that she can carry on their tradition. but in her new home, dandan has no one to enjoy the gift with―until a friend comes along. bookshop.org
sam and the lucky money by karen chinn and illustrated by cornelius van wright & ying-hwa hu: 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. 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. bookshop.org
the great race: the story of the chinese zodiac by dawn casey and illustrated by anne wilson: race with the animals of the zodiac as they compete to have the years of the chinese calendar named after them. the excitement-filled story is followed by notes on the chinese calendar, important chinese holidays, and a chart outlining the animal signs based on birth years. bookshop.org
other lunar new year books
here are two that are great for celebrating the diversity of lunar new year: tastes of lunar new year and dumpling soup, which both center food and all the different cultural treats that used to celebrate the holiday.
and here’s one that we’re adding to the collection this year: year of the cat by richard ho and illustrated by jocelyn li langrand. rat won the great race, which determined the order of the chinese zodiac calendar. but he did it using trickery that left poor cat behind. now, rat wants to make amends . . . or so he says. all the zodiac animals set off to apologize to cat. yet somehow, by the end of the journey, rat is the only one left. and cat has a special surprise for him. bookshop.org
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