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12 Best Chinese New Year Books For Kids
The Chinese Lunar New Year has become a very popular celebrations across the world. Celebrated in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, it has been adopted around the world. It is celebrated in either January or February each year - the date varies each year.
What's not to like? It is a chance to eat yummy Chinese food, put up colourful decorations, to let off fireworks and watch parades. It is exactly what we need in the UK at the most dreary time of year.
Here are 12 books for younger children to learn all about what Chinese New Year means, and how it is celebrated both in China and by Chinese communities around the world. With lovely illustrations and simple language, these books will delight children.
12 Chinese New Year Books For Younger Children
- The Jiating Family Celebrates Chinese New Year by Eria Desu
Join the Jiating family as they celebrate the most important holiday in the Chinese culture, Chinese New Year! In this beautifully illustrated new book, The Jiating Family Celebrates Chinese New Year, children will discover the rich tradition and customs of this ancient festival.
From the decorations to the food, from the lion and dragon dances to the legend of Nian, from the red envelopes filled with money to the spectacular fireworks, you can learn about the unique celebration of Chinese New Year.
All the family will also discover the significance of the lunar calendar, the Chinese zodiac, and the Spring Festival.
- Mr. Men Little Miss: Chinese New Year
- The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson and Joel Stewart
- Where Is My Little Dragon?
- My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz
- Chinese New Year Activity Book For Kids
- We Love Chinese New Year by Saviour Pirotta and Camilla Lloyd
- The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine
- Dragon Dance by Joan Holub
- Peppa's Chinese New Year
- Chinese New Year's Dragon by Rachel Sing
- Lanterns and Firecrackers by Jonny Zucker and Jan Barger Cohen
The Mr Men and the Little Misses are celebrating in Mr. Men Little Miss: Chinese New Year.
Little Miss Neat is having a party with traditional decorations and a New Year's Eve feast and the next day there will even be a dragon dance. What could possibly go wrong?!
From the creator of The Gruffalo comes a lovely story for Chinese New Year - The Magic Paintbrush .
Chinese girl Shen can paint steaming pots full of fish and oysters to feed the hungry people in her village, but when the evil emperor hears of her gift, he commands Shen to paint gold for him instead.
This bilingual book is in both Chinese and English and includes Coloring Pictures too!
Where Is My Little Dragon? tells of Amy the dragon lady - where is she? Is she helping a princess? Or a brave knight?
Chinese New Year is a time of new beginnings. Follow one little girl as she experiences My First Chinese New Year and all the festivities surrounding it.
This warm and lively introduction to a special holiday will make even the youngest child want to start a Chinese New Year tradition!
The Chinese New Year Activity Book For Kids is a fun book full of games for learning, including colouring, mazes, wordsearches and much more.
Chinese New Year - We Love Festivals is aimed at children aged 4-7 in Foundation Stage and KS1 classes. Describing how Chinese people prepare for New Year by cleaning their house and having their hair cut, how people around the world scare the monster Nian away with fireworks and watch the dragon dance in the street.
With lots of interesting and unusual facts about Chinese New Year it includes a chart so that kids can work out what Chinese year they were born in.
The Runaway Wok is a comic tale of Chinese New Year which reminds readers about the importance of generosity. 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!
In Dragon Dance it's Chinese New Year and there are so many fun things to do! Shopping at the outdoor market for fresh flowers, eating New Year's dinner with the whole family.
Plus receiving red envelopes from Grandma and Grandpa, and best of all-watching the spectacular Chinese New Year's parade. A lovely lift-the-flap book.
Peppa and George are celebrating in Peppa's Chinese New Year. Peppa and George and their friends make Chinese New Year cards, try tasty Chinese treats and even take part in their very own dragon parade!
In Chinese New Year's Dragon, a young girl describes the customs and rituals surrounding the celebration and imagines herself in Ancient China, riding on a dragon, and watching the celebration unfold.
The artwork is appropriately festive, and the illustrations of the family's holiday are mouthwatering.
Lanterns and Firecrackers is simple introduction to the Chinese New Year festival.
Follow a family as they let off firecrackers, watch the amazing dragon dances and light their beautiful lanterns to celebrate the start of their New Year. Lovely illustrations and clear explanations.