Lunar New Year marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar, and is celebrated all over the world! To ring in the Year of the Dragon, we’ve created a list of children’s books to help you celebrate.
Bizzy Bear: Chinese New Year
By Benji Davies
8 Pages | Ages 0-2 | Board Book
ISBN 9781536232011 | Candlewick Press
A festive new title in this phenomenal board book series. Bizzy Bear and his friends get ready to enjoy the Chinese New Year celebrations in this novelty board book full of tabs to slide, push, and pull. Follow Bizzy Bear and enjoy a night of fun festivities!
Dim Sum Palace
By X. Fang
48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881989 | Tundra Books
Liddy is so excited about going to the Dim Sum Palace tomorrow with her family that she can’t sleep. So when a delicious smell wafts into her room, she hops out of bed, opens her door and steps into . . . an actual palace of dim sum! There are dumplings, baos, buns and more delicious treats than one girl can possibly eat. Liddy just has to take a bite, but she slips and falls . . . into a bowl of dumpling filling. The chefs are so busy rolling, folding and pinching dough that they don’t notice they’ve prepared a most unusual dumpling for the Empress – a Liddy dumpling! Worst of all, she looks good enough to eat . . .
First Festivals: Lunar New Year
By Ladybird
Illustrated by Debby Rahmalia
12 Pages | Ages 2-5 | Board Book
ISBN 9780241629628 | Ladybird
Discover the celebration of Lunar New Year with this bright, interactive lift-the-flap book! Featuring simple text, gorgeous illustrations and satisfying lift-the-flaps, this book explores common traditions and helps young children understand the importance of this special holiday. Lift the flaps to reveal gifts being opened, a dragon dance being performed, a lantern taking to the skies and firecrackers and fireworks exploding in the night sky. The First Festivals series invites children to explore the world’s culture from the comfort of their home, encourages the development of hand-eye coordination and is recommended for children aged 2 and over.
Happy Lunar New Year! (Sesame Street)
By Sonali Fry
Illustrated by Barry Goldberg
26 Pages | Ages 0-3 | Board Book
ISBN 9780593648902 | Random House BFYR
Celebrate the Lunar New Year on Sesame Street with Ji-Young, Lily, and Elmo! Elmo learns about different Lunar New Year celebrations from his friends on Sesame Street. Ji-Young tells Elmo about Soellal, which is celebrated in Korea. And Lily the tiger shares traditions from her Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. This colorful board book is filled with good fortune and fun for everyone! It makes a great Lunar New Year gift for young boys and girls.
I Want to Be Spaghetti!
By Kiera Wright-Ruiz
Illustrated by Claudia Lam
56 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593529874 | Kokila
Even from Ramen’s small shelf in the supermarket, they see spaghetti propaganda everywhere. They want to be celebrated, too. Maybe, Ramen misguidedly thinks, I have to change to be loved like that. “I want to be spaghetti!” they proclaim to the dismay of the rest of the instant noodle section. But when Ramen’s brought home and placed in a warm bowl of broth alongside new friends like Chashu, Narutomaki, and Nori, they realize they’ve always been perfect exactly the way they are.
Lunar New Year: A Celebration of Family and Fun
By Mary Man-Kong
Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan
32 Pages | Ages 2-5 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593649466 | Golden Books
Every year, millions of Asian families come together to celebrate the first new moon in the sky. Now preschoolers can learn about the zodiac animals, the delicious food, the exciting parades, and all the fun traditions. Filled with colorful illustrations and simple, yet informative text, this Big Golden Book is perfect for reading again and again to the whole family. Happy Lunar New Year!
Night Market Rescue
By Charlotte Cheng
Illustrated by Amber Ren
32 Pages | Ages 4-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593531723 | Rocky Pond Books
A stray dog stumbles upon the gift of friendship – and maybe even the promise of home – while wandering the delight-filled night market in Taipei. While resting on a stoop, Gogo smells something sweet and spicy on the breeze. It leads him to a place he’s never been – a bustling night market where vendors sell delicious treats. As he wanders, sniffing for scraps, GoGo discovers something else as well: a little girl who has gotten separated from her parents. He knows he can help and guides her through the market . . . to where her worried parents wait for her – with open arms for their daughter and GoGo, their new pet!
Rainbow Shopping
By Qing Zhuang
40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780823449774 | Holiday House
On a rainy Saturday, a young girl feels as gray as a pigeon. Since moving from China to New York City, Mom, Dad, and Grandma have been very busy working. But a trip to Mom’s favorite Chinatown store to find the best produce, seafood, and spices for dinner just might turn the girl’s day around. Later on, Dad steams, boils, fries, and stir-fries all the ingredients while girl and Grandma taste-test. After cozy goodnights, a final dream spread shows the family walking hand-in-hand in rainbow colors – an affirmation of love and support even on rainy, gray days. Inspired by Qing Zhuang’s experience as a first generation Chinese American, Rainbow Shopping explores a young child’s feelings of loneliness and discovery with tenderness and humor. Qing uses watercolor, colored pencil, and crayon to beautifully recreate NYC’s Chinatown neighborhood. Filled with warmth and details of city life, this story about a working-class family is one readers can return to again and again.
Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu
By Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrated by Crystal Kung
40 Pages | Ages 5-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593533055 | Rocky Pond Books
The story of Rapunzel where she’s being locked in a tower by a witch is a good one – but it’s not totally the truth. The real story is about a young princess in China named Ra Pu Zel who doesn’t want to talk to princes or look proper. What Pu Zel wants is to cook and eat in peace, her long hair neatly braided to keep it out of her food. And when she gets tired of everyone telling her what to do, she locks herself in a tower with her dog Bao. Although princes from everywhere try to convince her to come down, it’s not until a young chef arrives with an intriguing food to share that Ra Pu Zel finally has a reason.
Ten Little Dumplings
By Larissa Fan
Illustrated by Cindy Wume
48 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735266193 | Tundra Books
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.
The Goblin Twins
By Frances Cha
Illustrated by Jaime Kim
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593480212 | Crown BFYR
Doki and Kebi are two Korean magical goblin twin brothers who couldn’t be more different! Kebi loves to scare people (maybe a little too much) and explore! Doki would rather give people bags of gold when he’s not reading a book! Despite their differences, Doki and Kebi are inseparable. When it’s time for the goblin tricksters to move, the brothers decide to make their new home together in a strange, unknown land . . . New York City! As they prepare for the new customs of Halloween, Doki and Kebi are in for a surprise in this new holiday adventure inspired by the Korean mythology of dokkaebi.
