Top Chinese New Year Books and Culture Books for Children
Chinese Culture for Kids series features TOP Lunar New Year books for children.
Lunar New Year culture books take children to explore Chinese culture beyond the surface. Reading takes kids to learn more about family roles, expectations, manners, family values, and more in Chinese culture.
We are hoping you can pick some best books in this multicultural book list, share it with your school and local libraries and explore the world culture with your children!
Chinese Lunar New Year is based on the lunar calendar which means the cycles are based on the moon. The New Year on the Lunar Calendar in Chinese is called the Lunar Calendar New Year 農曆年 nóng lì nián 农历年 or Spring Festival 春節 chūn jié 春节. Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year usually falls between January and February.
Use this list of Children’s books to add more world culture to your home library. Share this list with peers, schools, and local libraries. This is a growing book list of Lunar New Year and cultural books that you can keep handy for picking a title to have storytime at your child’s class and at the Lunar New Year festival event.
Bringing in the New Year shows you the excitement of celebrating the Lunar New year in a Chinese family. Award-winning illustrator and author, Grace Lin skillfully shares the essence of culture in the story and in introduction pages with featured words.
Lunar New Year tells how the New Year is celebrated in the Chinese community. How to prepare and celebrate the festival. It covers the highlights of the Lunar New Year in simple words and guide the readers to experience the 15-day of celebration.
A to Z of Chinese Culture Playbook by Indigrow is
Authors: Akhila Das Blah and Kshama Alur, the creators of Indigrow, the multicultural children’s educational and products company. Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett provided cultural inputs. Illustrator is Junel Che Fujinuki.
A to Z of Chinese Culture Playbook connect readers with engaging words, activities, and curiosity.
Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is a time of celebration and reflection. It is the most important Vietnamese cultural festival. A great read to guide readers to explore the cultural similarities and differences between Vietnamese and Chinese Lunar New Year traditions as an extended discussion.
Top Chinese New Year Books and Culture Books for Children
Peppa’s Chinese New Year This book comes in time just for the arrival of the year of the PIG! The adorable Peppa is celebrating Lunar New Year! Find out what Peppa and her friends are doing to learn about some of the Chinese New Year traditions. This book is based on the TV show, Peppa Pig on Nick Jr.
Happy Happy New Year by Demi is a beautiful way to experience Chinese culture through words and art. Lunar New Year traditions come to life as you read about the preparation of the Lunar New Year. Do you know you Chinese people get a haircut before new year’s day? There are so many interesting customs children will find interesting. It goes to the 15 days of exciting celebration of the Lunar New Year with many cultural facts. This is a fantastic book and it will spark many great conversations with kids in different age groups.
A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong tells an important story of a family reunion for the New year! It is a sweet and poignant story. Expecting of a loved one coming home for the special time of the year in the Chinese culture. The background of the story with one parent working in a faraway city might be new to many children.
It provides children with a different perspective of families on the other side of the world. The illustration of this book is detailed and expressive in a way that you can see and even feel the emotion of Little Maomao, the young girl who is preparing for her father’s return. A fabulous Chinese culture book to share with children and learn Chinese Lunar New Year traditions from a native Chinese author’s and illustrator’s eyes.
Chelsea’s Chinese New Year How is Chelsea’s family celebrating Chinese New Year? Follow Chelsea and find out. Why does she stay up late? What is a Lunar New Year family feast look like? It is a well-researched book and is a fun read with young children. It is free on Kindle Unlimited.
Top Chinese New Year Books and Culture Books for Children 
New Year Dragon Dilemma Even though it is not really a Chinese culture book but I am glad to see a chapter book with a background on Lunar New Year. What Chinese New Year celebration is like in San Francisco Chinatown? What case needs to be solved? This is a book in the A to Z Mysteries series.
Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions I enjoyed reading this book with my kids on a flight to visit Chinese Grandma and Grandpa a few years ago. This Asian American second grader, Alvin, is heading to China for a family visit. He is very concerned with this over 15 hours flight. And, the cultural differences he is facing will take readers to experience the Chinese culture at a very different level.
“Shares with Diary of a Wimpy Kid the humor that stems from trying to manipulate the world.” —Newsday
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, author, and illustrator. It’s the Year of the Dog and Pacy finds out this is the year she should “find herself.” This is a story about family, friendship, and finding one’s passion in life. The humor and deep thoughts of this book will appeal to readers with all cultural backgrounds.
Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子) by
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes
by Nina Simonds takes you to experience Chinese holidays – Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Qing Ming, The Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival through traditional stories, crafts, activities, and recipes. With this wonderful collection, you can discover the splendid festival celebrations with your child.
The Dancing Dragon
by Marcia K. Vaughan and Stanley Wong Hoo Foon is an accordion-style book with the magnificent dragon showing when you open up the pages. This is one of the stories I read to young children. The colorful drawings and rhyming words are fun. We go through the excitement and festivities of the Chinese New Year as we turn each page.
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin takes you along to experience the preparations for the Lunar New Year – cleaning up the house, hanging the lucky spring couplets, making dumplings, and more. There is a note from the author on Lunar New Year traditions and there are the picture and word pages for the kids to learn some of the commonly-known Lunar New Year items.
Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Imperial China by Joanna Cole is a wonderful book to introduce Chinese New Year and Chinese culture to children. My kids and I are Magic School Bus fans and we always enjoy the adventures with Ms. Frizzle in the books. This adventure starts at a Chinese New Year’s festival in Chinatown and walks back time to experience ancient China. This is a book filled with information and cultural facts that you are going to enjoy with your child. This is a wonderful resource book for the family library.
New Clothes for New Year’s Day
by Hyun-Joo Bae leads us to see the New Year through the eyes of a young Korean girl. The illustration in this picture book is stunning. My daughter and I enjoy learning about how to put on a Korean-style New Year’s Day outfit. The information pages at the end of the book tell us about the meaning of the traditional costume and the role of New Year’s Day in Korean culture.
The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters
by Christoph Niemann is an entertaining picture book following the little girl, Lin, and her special gift – a baby dragon! One or more Chinese characters are introduced on each page with pictures. My children enjoy the story and they also love to “draw” the Chinese characters from the book with their Chinese brushes.
Ruby’s Wish
by Shirin Yim tells an inspiring family story of her grandmother in old China. My daughter and I read this book together and we talked about the conflict between Chinese tradition and young Ruby’s longing to attend school. We enjoy the story and the illustration of this book very much.
The Great Race
by Dawn Casey is a tale about the 12 Chinese animal birth signs. My young students always love to find out the Chinese animal birth signs for their family members after reading this fun book.
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The Runaway Rice Cake
by Ying Chang Compestine tells a fun story for the Chinese New Year with a Nián Gao – sticky rice cake recipe. It delivers the message of sharing, being generous, and being compassionate. It is like a Chinese version of the Gingerbread Man story. My kids also think this is similar to the story of Hawaii’s The Musubi Man.
Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes: Share and Sing in Two Languages
by Faye-Lynn Wu has a collection of rhymes and songs in Chinese and English. Singing is a joyful way to learn a language and experience culture. You can read the book and listen to the CD included for a Chinese New Year filled with traditional children’s songs.
Ten Mice for Tet!
by Pegi Deitz Shea is a counting book that introduces children to the Vietnamese traditions of the Lunar New Year. When you read this book check out the pictures in this book closely. They are all embroidered! I also enjoy the notes at the end that explain Vietnamese traditions.
All About China– Stories, Songs, Crafts and More for Kids by Allison Branscombe is a resourceful culture book that you will enjoy year after year. Branscombe has two daughters adopted from China and this books reflects excellent research and provides engaging hands-on projects for readers.
and there are more books on Chinese New Year and Culture…
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan Long Shang: For ages 8 and up. Here is a humorous and heartwarming story about split cultural identities.
The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang: The Nian monster has returned on Chinese New Year’s Day. The old tricks to keep him away don’t work on Nian anymore! What idea will Xingling come up with?
Grandma panda’s storybook by Mingmei Yip: Grandma Panda is such a great teacher. She is also a fun storyteller and a fantastic cook! Read this with your child and go on an adventure to explore the Chinese culture. Watch the interview I had with the author and watch her surprise for Miss Panda’s readers!
The Panda and their chopsticks by Demi: Who is eating bamboo shoots with chopsticks? Pandas? Really? They are the playful panda and they are learning to share and work together with friends! Award-winning author, Demi presents her beautifully illustrated book with ten classic animal stories, each containing important moral lessons for little hearts and minds to absorb.
Goldy Luck and Three Pandas by Natasha Yim: What happens in this Chinese American retelling of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears?” Who eats up the littlest panda’s rice porridge, breaks his rocking chair, and rumples all the blankets on his futon? Find out what happens in the end.
How about “Tikki Tikki Tembo”
by Arlene Morsel? This book is no longer on this booklist due to inaccurate cultural information. It is said to be a re-creation of an ancient Chinese folktale, however, it is based on a Japanese one. The names in the book don’t sound Chinese. That is because most Chinese people’s names contain two to three Chinese characters. One character is the family name. One or two characters are the first name. However, long names with over 10 Chinese characters can be found in the Shinjang province in China. Author and illustrator Grace Lin have shared an article, Rethinking ‘Tikki Tikki Tembo,’ and it is a great culture read for parents and educators.
The latest addition to the Lunar New Year booklist
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners
Author: Joanna Ho. This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that takes readers to strengthen their identity, be proud of their heritage, and dive into the Chinese culture exploration. There are hidden messages and cultural elements in the illustrations. The story shows that the differences shine and everyone can lead and make a change.
First Mandarin Sounds
Author: Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett “Miss Panda.” I wrote this book because learners and readers need to see (and hear) how the most used romanized Chinese alphabet, Pinyin, is actually pronounced in Mandarin with meaning and playful words – and to do it in an easy-to-remember way. With vibrant illustrations, a “look & find” read and play design, and complimentary online audio support and play pages. This book is created with the Montessori approach in mind. As a mother of two bilingual teens (yes, they are so big now), I am passionate about raising bilingual children and bilingual education. My mission is to make learning Mandarin simple, playful, and accessible to non-native and heritage learners from the very beginning. I hope you enjoy it with your children!
I Dream of PoPo
Author: Livia Blackburne. A touching story about the beautiful bonding a young girl has with her grandmother and her heritage. As the young girl emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S., the love between the granddaughter and the PoPo, the grandmother remains strong. It is a gorgeous picture book with emotionally rich illustrations. Readers can resonate with the story, the detailed illustrations that share Taiwan culture in so many ways.
The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round
Author: Wendy Wan-Long Shang. Celebrating world culture with THE RICE IN THE POT GOES ROUND AND ROUND by Wendy Wan-Long Shang whose books (The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, This Is Just a Test…) touch hearts with her in-depth cross-cultural and inter-cultural stories. This new book shares the beauty of food and the love of a multigeneration family.
Top Chinese New Year Books and Culture Books for Children
Let’s Go to Taekwondo!: A Story About Persistence, Bravery, and Breaking Boards (Yoomi, Friends, and Family)
Author Aram Kim. Yumi is doing Taekwondo, but, Yumi has a problem when it is time to break the board. Yumi has a problem. Grandma also has a problem, too. A problem with the computer… Quit! Should Grandma quit? Should Yumi quit? This is a lovely illustrated picture with such encouragement for readers to learn about persistence. There is also a fun fact page for you to learn more about Taekwondo and some simple Korean expressions you can use including numbers. Author Aram’s No Kimchi For Me is another great read. Make sure you check it out.
2022 update – Top Chinese New Year Books and Culture Books for Children
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This is a great post! I am adding it to my list of resources and will feature on Monday in Afterschool round up. Also pinned it to my China board!
Thank you very much! Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!
Tikki Tikki Tembo is a fave in our house. Cannot wait to check out some of the others on the list!
My daughter’s grade is going to have a play on Tikki Tikki Tembo as a part of their learning about China. Hope you enjoy the rest of the books as well. Thank you for visiting!
What a great collection of books! Thanks for sharing at the After School Linky Party!
I was so glad to know that you find the post resourceful. Thank you for sharing. It is my pleasure!
Oh! I wish I has seen this before. I like your collection. I bought the Great Race last year, its a lovely book would be nice to have more in the new future, too late to order now for the New Year.
Chinese Lunar New Year celebration goes for 15 days so you can always check out your local library for the titles listed. We enjoy the Grace Race story as well. Have a fantastic year of the HORSE!
Great list. The Runaway Rice Cake is such a cute story!
Thank you! My kids said The Mushubi Man is going to race with The Runaway Rice Cake after reading RRC.
This is a great book list. Thank you so much for sharing it and for celebrating Multicultural Children’s Book Day with us.
I am planning to take the Multicultural Children’s Book Day to my kids’ schools next year. It was a great event. I am looking forward to reading more of the great books soon. Thank you for hopping by.
What a great post! Would you be interested in linking up with the Diverse Children’s Books Link-up? You can find it at http://pagesandmargins.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/diverse-childrens-books-link-up-june-18-july-1/. Thanks!
Thank you, Beth!
Thank you so much for adding my book to your list and for the wonderful review! It means so much to me! 謝謝! Eugenia
I was so thrilled to read your book and see how you combine Chinese culture and language together for young readers. I am looking forward to sharing your book at the Chinese New Year story time at the library next month. -Amanda Miss Panda