If you're looking for a mix of meaningful, adventurous, and educational tales, then you sure have come to the right place. Below are 25 tales centered around the Chinese new year. These depict the rich traditions, sacred beliefs, and fun times had by families who celebrate this period in the calendar.
1. Bringing In The New Year
This brightly illustrated book is perfect for young ones who are learning to read aloud. The fun storyline follows a Chinese American family as they begin with preparations to bring in the new year. It takes its readers on a fun adventure of food, decoration, and soulful tradition.
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2. Chinese New Year Colors
This book is the perfect choice for parents who are looking to introduce the names of colors in Chinese to their children. In this bilingual book, each page presents a new color in both Chinese as well as English and displays unique components of the special new year celebration.
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3. Ruby's Chinese New Year
Accompanied by animals from the Chinese Zodiac, Ruby goes on an exhilarating journey to deliver a special gift to her grandmother. Meeting them at varying parts of the tale, Ruby will only be escorted by one of them to finally meet her grandmother, but who will it be? Snag yourself a copy and find out!
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4. Lunar New Year
This beautiful book opens readers up to the world of Chinese culture and tradition over the period of the lunar new year. This board book encourages readers to spend time with family and indulge in traditions such as lighting lanterns and dancing with dragons.
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5. Peppa's Chinese New Year
Fans of Peppa Pig will love this rendition of the special Asian holiday. Peppa and her friends have a ball hanging lanterns, performing a lion dance, and enjoying fortune cookies- all practices unique to the colorful holiday that is the Chinese new year. Accompanying the book are a collection of stickers and fun facts for readers to enjoy once complete with their reading.
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6. Playing With Lanterns
In celebration of the annual Chinese holiday, little Zhao Di and her friends gather to light and send off paper lanterns. Indulging in this tradition for 15 nights, the friends gather in their village and delight in the floating spheres that illuminate the sky.
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7. Dragon Dance
Detailed illustrations come alive in Dragon Dance- a flap book about the exciting holiday that falls within the Chinese calendar. Readers are introduced to deep-rooted traditions as this cultural celebration unfolds in a tale of market visits, gift giving, and sacred dances.
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8. Celebrating Chinese New Year
Children aged 6-9 will love this story about the charming characters of the Chinese Zodiac. It's an awesome book to teach young ones about the traditions, beautiful food, and historical culture that comprise this ancient holiday period.
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9. Chinese New Year Wishes
Another festive book in our Chinese new year collective is one that revolves around the importance of family traditions in Asian cultures. For more of a detailed look at the customs that surround the new year in China, take a look at the back of the book where you'll find heaps of questions and topics for more discussion.
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10. My First Chinese New Year
Experiencing anything for the first time can be quite a thrill, but there's nothing like celebrating one of the best Chinese traditions on the calendar. Ancient times are depicted in this bright picture book and would be the perfect gift for a toddler.
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11. Baby's First Chinese New Year
This story displays brightly colored traditional clothing, animals of the zodiac as well as stunning paper lanterns. Lively illustrations depicted on these pages are sure to captivate your baby's attention and thanks to the book's thick pages, babies can flick through the story themselves!
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12. My First Chinese New Year ABC Picture Book
Looking for the perfect book for toddlers? This is it! Rich illustrations accompany each of the alphabet's letters whilst depicting sacred pieces of tradition carried out by Chinese families during the new year period.
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13. Bobo's Colorful Chinese New Year
Join Bobo's learning adventure in this fun book. The bilingual creation invites readers to discover letters, basic phrases, and colors. You'll also uncover traditions such as the lucky money tree as well as sacred dances that have been tied to the Chinese new year for hundreds of centuries past.
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14. Baby Loves Lunar Phases
Although a beginner-level book, it certainly is one that encourages learning. This baby enjoys one of her first Chinese new years and in the process, discovers the phases of the moon.
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15. Goldy Luck And The Three Pandas
A spin-off of Goldilocks and the three bears is this hilarious tale written by Natasha Yim. Goldy Luck is tasked with delivering a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors, but when she discovers they aren't at home, she makes herself comfortable in their house anyway!
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16. Celebrate Chinese New Year
This read helps young readers get to grips with important elements of Chinese culture. You'll learn about the representation and history behind all of the special occasions, food, and clothing that encompass the new year.
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17. Popo's Lucky Chinese New Year
Looking to learn what the Chinese new year is all about? Follow along as Popo does so herself when her grandmother comes to town during the special period.
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18. Chelsea's Chinese New Year
Everyone's family celebrates special occasions in a different way. Join Chelsea as she spends her Chinese new year watching fireworks, eating from a delicious family feast, and enjoying the dragon parade.
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19. Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon
When dragon Nian begins to terrorize the local village, a brave little girl named Mei has 15 days to defeat him before he is freed forever. Throughout the tale, readers are introduced to various elements of the Chinese new year.
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20. How To Catch A Dragon
Join the exhilarating chase of tracking a dragon through the streets of China at the height of the Spring festival. The book details different elements of the new year such as red envelopes, lanterns, fireworks and so much more!
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21. The Year Of The Ox
Little Ox Olivia befriends Mei and the two of them work together to save their village. The Ox, based on one of the animals in the Chinese zodiac, introduces readers to the lunar calendar and the special period of the Chinese new year.
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22. The Year Of The Horse
This little horse tale is the perfect embodiment of the Chinese zodiac. Along with Chinese beliefs that the new year brings about a time of happiness, this book reminds readers to embrace a spirit of courage as they approach the new year. Art lovers will enjoy the story of a boy and a horse who carry their art teacher's paintings across the country.
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23. The Year Of The Tiger
Readers interested in Asian culture will love this book about a girl and tiger who become friends despite the warnings of both party's villages and parents. If you're a cat lover, this one's for you!
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24. The Year Of The Monkey
As Max the monkey takes on a new year, he learns to carry important Chinese lessons with him. Max needs to use his clever and cunning ways to tackle the new sport he has decided to try. Follow along to see if he succeeds!
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25. The Year Of The Dog
Symbolizing luck, a little dog named Daniel seeks to display his loyalty to his newfound friend just when she needs it most!
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