The Lunar New Year is a world wide celebration, although it is heavily celebrated in East Asia. It ties in with the coming of spring and a time of rebirth. I’ve selected books about the Chinese New Year because I am most familiar with it, but ask your librarian for Lunar New Year books about other cultures! For preschoolers who do not celebrate the holiday at home, these books will provide a gentle introduction. I picked books that are relatively short, have great pictures, and feature some familiar characters to keep kids’ interests.
Chinese New Year Books
1.Brining in the New Year by Grace Lin–
This is a great choice for preschoolers learning about Chinese New Year. It is a short story, with bright illustrations. In this book, a girl is excited for the new year to come. Her family prepares by cleaning, hanging decorations, getting haircuts, making dumplings, scaring away the bad luck, and participating in the lantern parade. Finally, it is time to wake the dragon and let the new year begin! My son was curious about why the dragon looked different then the dragons he was used to seeing in books, which lead to a discussion about how European dragons and Asian dragons are different from each other.
2.How to Catch a Dragon by Adam Wallace–
Preschoolers love Adam Wallace’s “How to Catch a …” series! They have engaging pictures, rhyming text, and are infused with humor. In this Chinese New Year themed story, the kids are out to catch a dragon. They’ve got their traps ready, but the dragon keeps outsmarting them! Preschools will giggle at the kids’ foiled attempts to catch a dragon.
3. Maisy’s Chinese New Year by Lucy Cousins–
Preschoolers love the bold, bright pictures that are featured in Maisy’s books. Maisy’s stories provide gentle introductions to a wide array of topics. In this Chinese New Year story, Maisy takes the reader through all of the steps involved with preparing for the New Year. Her friends come over to celebrate with her. They all wear red, eat yummy traditional foods, and listen to the story of the Chinese Zodiac. My son loved looking at the Chinese Zodiac and talking about the different animals. He was so curious about why the rat won the race and what animal represented the year he was born! This was a fantastic book to introduce him to Chinese New Year and prompt further questions and discussion.
4. Peppa’s Chinese New Year —
Preschoolers love Peppa Pig! Using a beloved character to teach something new really helps keeps kids engaged. So while this is not the most detailed or the most culturally accurate book on the subject, it will provide preschoolers with a good introduction to the Lunar New Year holiday. In this story, Peppa’s class is going to be celebrating Chinese New Year and the kids are so excited! They decorate the classroom with paper lanterns and put on a dragon dance. Peppa’s enthusiasm is contagious and you might find that your kiddo wants to hang decorations too.
5.Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim–
This cute story is a Chinese New Year version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It is a little bit on the long side, but it is entertaining! Goldy Luck’s mom asks her to bring a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors, the Chan family (pandas). But Goldy is hungry and sleepy. Her mother sends her to make the quick delivery. Goldy stumbles into the house to find that the Chans aren’t home. Poor Goldy spills the turnip cakes all over the floor. Before she can clean them up, the smell of rice porridge distracts her. As the tale goes, she eats porridge, tries (and breaks) chairs, and sleeps in the beds. When the Chan family gets home, she wakes up and runs away. In this story, Goldy feels bad to the trouble she caused the Chans and Goldy tries to make amends. She brings porridge, offers to help fix the chair, and clean up the mess she made!
6. Red is a Dragon: a book of colors by Roseanne Thong–
While this story is not about Chinese New Year, it does introduce preschoolers to Chinese American culture. Plus, it helps reinforce color recognition! Told in simple, rhyming text, this is a story about a girl who spots the colors of the rainbow everywhere around her. She goes in rainbow color order, pointing out food, clothing, animals, flowers, toys, clouds, and household items. A glossary at the end of the book explains some of the things that preschoolers might not be familiar with to help further discussion with your kiddo. We had to look up one of the fruits that I didn’t know, so I was learning new stuff too 🙂
Check your library for these Chinese New Year books! I hope you will enjoy them as much as we did. I’ve joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. So if you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I might get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support!
