Lunar New Year 2022

February 1 is Lunar New Year and it is the Year of the Tiger! Whether you’re celebrating or hoping to learn more about Lunar New Year traditions, we have some books for you.

Books about the Lunar New Year:

Alex’s Good Fortune
By Benson Shum
32 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593222942 | Penguin Workshop
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Alex and her family, so it’s even more special when she gets to share her favorite traditions with her best friend, Ethan. Together, they join the Chinese New Year parade and get to help make the dragon dance. Then they prepare for the festivities by tidying up, decorating, and making dumplings. After that, it’s time to open red envelopes, eat a great big feast, and enjoy the lantern festival! Complete with fun facts about the holiday in the back of the book, young readers will want to revisit this story again and again.

Baby Loves Lunar Phases on Chinese New Year!
By Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Irene Chan
20 Pages | Ages 0-3 | Board Book
ISBN 9781623543068 | Charlesbridge
While celebrating Chinese New Year, Baby discovers the science behind lunar phases! Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby, this clever board book explores the lunar calendar, the moon’s orbit, and the reason the moon seems to change shape. Beautiful, visually stimulating illustrations complement age-appropriate language to encourage baby’s sense of wonder. Parents and caregivers may learn a thing or two as well.

Lunar New Year Mad Libs
By Ellen Lee
48 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593383926 | Mad Libs
Ring in the holiday with some ADJECTIVE firecrackers and COLOR envelopes, and celebrate Lunar New Year with your family, friends, and Mad Libs! Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year) is here, and Mad Libs is joining in the celebrations with Lunar New Year Mad Libs! Filled with good cheer and good fortune, these 21 fill-in-the-blank stories about the traditions and joy of the holiday will have the whole family ready to ring in the new year together.

Maisy’s Chinese New Year
By Lucy Cousins
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback
ISBN 9781536216783 | Candlewick
Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, and Maisy’s friend Tiger is coming home for the occasion. Hooray! Tiger has brought some beautiful gifts, some with a special symbol that means good luck. Maisy has asked all her friends to her house to celebrate with a delicious feast, and Penguin and Ostrich are handing out lucky red packets with money inside. Now it’s time for Tiger to tell the story of Chinese New Year, while everyone stays up late for fireworks. But the best is to come on New Year’s Day, when Maisy and all her friends take part in a dragon dance! Vivid with red and gold, this First Experiences book – featuring a simple visual glossary of common Chinese New Year’s objects – will be a favorite of little ones new to the tradition as well as those for whom it’s a beloved event.

The 12 Days of Lunar New Year
By Jenna Lettice
Illustrated by Colleen Madden
24 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593306789 | Random House BFYR
Count out twelve ways to celebrate Lunar New Year! This cheery addition to the 12 Days series celebrates tradition, culture, and family in the lead-up to Lunar New Year! Young readers and their caregivers will enjoy counting all the different ways they can engage with their communities and honor their ancestors. This simple rhyming story is paired with warm illustrations and a full page of stickers, making these books the perfect gift for kids

Stories to share:

Ten Little Dumplings
By Larissa Fan
Illustrated by Cindy Wume
48 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735266193 | Puffin Canada
In the city of Tainan, there lives a very special family – special because they have ten sons who do everything together. Their parents call them their ten little dumplings, as both sons and dumplings are auspicious. But if you look closely, you’ll see that someone else is there, listening, studying, learning and discovering her own talent – a sister. As this little girl grows up in the shadow of her brothers, her determination and persistence help her to create her own path in the world . . . and becomes the wisdom she passes on to her own daughter, her own little dumpling. Based on a short film made by the author, inspired by her father’s family in Taiwan, Ten Little Dumplings looks at some unhappy truths about the place of girls in our world in an accessible, inspiring and hopeful way.

Kwanzaa Reading List

Kwanzaa is an annual week-long holiday that is observed from December 26 to January 1 and is celebrated by Black families around the world. Here are a couple of books to teach you a bit more about this special occasion.

Happy Kwanzaa Mad Libs
By David Tierra
48 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593094013 | Mad Libs
Time to light the PLURAL NOUN and celebrate Kwanzaa with your family, closest friends, and Mad Libs. It’s the holiday season and Mad Libs is joining in the celebrations with Happy Kwanzaa Mad Libs. These 21 inspiring stories will have the whole family laughing and enjoying the holiday together for years to come!

Together for Kwanzaa
By Juwanda G. Ford and Shelly Hehenberger
24 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback
ISBN 9780375803291 | Random House BFYR
Kwanzaa is Kayla’s favorite time of year. But this year, it looks as if a heavy snowstorm will keep her big brother, Khari, from getting home in time for the festivities! Will Khari miss the celebration completely? Or will Kayla and her brother somehow find a way to be together for Kwanzaa? A perfect introduction to Kwanzaa, this book will teach children all about the traditions and practices that make it a special winter holiday.

Diwali Reading List

This year,  Diwali will occur for Hindu people on November 4. If you’re looking for books to celebrate Diwali or just want to learn more about this Hindu festival of lights, here are some suggestions.

Archie Celebrates Diwali
By Mitali Banerjee Ruths
Illustrated by Parwinder Singh
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781623541194 | Charlesbridge
Archana loves her family’s annual Diwali party, and this year she gets to share it with all her friends from school. She helps with the decorations and the food, and is eager for everyone to arrive. But once the party starts a thunderstorm kicks up and drenches the outside decorations and knocks out the power. Archie worries that everything will be ruined. How can there be a festival of lights without any electricity?

Baby’s First Diwali
By DK
14 Pages | Ages 0-2 | Board Book
ISBN 9781465485397 | DK Children
The bright and colorful images in this book are the perfect way to discover Diwali together. From the shining diya lamps that gave the festival its name, to colorful flower decorations, to sweet treats, Baby’s First Diwali features all the familiar favorites associated with India’s biggest and brightest holiday.

Goodnight Ganesha
By Nadia Salomon
Illustrated by Poonam Mistry
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593203613 | Philomel BFYR
As nighttime falls over the city, two children visiting their grandparents in India find there’s so much fun to be had! Whether it’s listening to epic stories or observing rituals in the puja room, there are many moments that make this time together special. In this beautiful, rhyming ode to bedtime, the only thing more universal than getting ready for bed and saying goodnight is the love between children and their grandparents.

Happy Diwali Mad Libs
By Shweta Raj
48 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593094006 | Mad Libs
Time to decorate the house with [PERSON IN THE ROOM] and light the [PLURAL NOUN], as we celebrate Diwali with family, friends, and Mad Libs. Lay out your diyas and create your rangoli [PLURAL NOUN] because the Festival of Lights is here! With 21 “fill-in-the-blank” stories about the festive and spiritual holiday, Happy Diwali Mad Libs is the perfect way to celebrate. Play alone, in a group, or around the house as you decorate for Diwali. Mad Libs are a fun family activity recommended for ages 8 to [NUMBER].

Tundra Book Group