Children's Book Suggestions | Lunar New Year

Books about Lunar New Year for all ages! Unless otherwise noted, the books on this list are picture books (readers age 4-8).

Updated January 9, 2024
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Lunar new year
Eliot, Hannah
Paper Book
Learn all about the traditions of Lunar New Year--also known as Chinese New Year--with this fourth board book in the Celebrate the World series, which highlights special occasions and holidays across the globe. After the winter solstice each year, it's time for a celebration with...

Board Book (Age 0-2)

The runaway wok : a Chinese New Year tale
Compestine, Ying Chang.
Paper Book
When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they'll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family's house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man's home with a feast in tow! With...
Welcome to Chinatown
Low, William
Paper Book
Welcome to Chinatown. There is so much to see. People practicing tai-chi, shoe cobblers, rows of herbs, outdoor fish markets, and more. And best of all, when the Lunar New Year begins, there's a New Year's Day parade, complete with a lion dance. This bilingual board book adaptation...

Board Book (Age 0-2)

The great race : story of the Chinese zodiac
Corr, Christopher
Paper Book
Celebrate Chinese New Year and learn how every animal earned its place in the Chinese zodiac by taking part in the Great Race! Discover who will come first to win the ultimate prize, and find out why Cat will never forgive his friend Rat in this ancient folk tale that has been passed from...
Boys don't fry
Lee, Kimberly
Paper Book
Jin wishes his family would ask him to help prepare the Lunar New Year feast. But boys, or Babas, never get asked--only Nyonyas, the girls. It's the eve of Lunar New Year, and Jin can't wait for the big family reunion dinner. He loves the aromas and the bubbly chatter coming...
The little pigs and the sweet rice cakes : a story told in English and Chinese
Li, Jian (Art teacher)
Paper Book
In America, every child knows the story of the three little pigs and the big, bad wolf, so they'll love reading about the pigs' Chinese counterparts. Told in a bilingual Chinese and English edition, this is the story of three little pigs whose appetites initially get the...
Wish soup : a celebration of Seollal
Park, Junghwa
Paper Book
Celebrate Korean Lunar New Year and join one child's quest to eat enough bowls of soup to become a "big girl!" Sohee's favorite part of Seollal is tteokguk--the special Korean rice cake soup traditionally only enjoyed on New Year's Day. Each bowl is said to make the person who eats it...
The Lunar New Year surprise
Wang, Jade
Paper Book
"It's the first day of the Lunar New Year--the biggest, yummiest, NOISIEST celebration of the year!" During the festivities, can Gege find the perfect moment to present his handcrafted surprise to his little sister? Children will learn what makes the Lunar New Year special, from the...
Ruby's Chinese New Year
Lee, Vickie
Paper Book
In this picture book by Vickie Lee celebrating Chinese New Year, animals from the Chinese zodiac help a little girl deliver a gift to her grandmother. Ruby has a special card to give to her grandmother for Chinese New Year. But who will help her get to grandmother's house to...
Red is a dragon : a book of colors
Thong, Roseanne.
Paper Book
Younger children will be engaged by Red Is a Dragon, as a young girl finds a rainbow of colors in her everyday life.
Two New Years
Ho, Richard (Children's author)
Paper Book
A Sydney Taylor Gold Medalist  A National Jewish Book Award Winner  This warm and welcoming New Year celebration invites readers to learn about Rosh Hashanah and Lunar New Year traditions and to reflect on the rich blends of cultures...
When you trap a tiger
Keller, Tae
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL . WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE . #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME . A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY Would you make a deal with a magical...

Young Teen Fiction (Grade 5-7)

Lunar New Year
Yim, Natasha
Paper Book
Mindy Kim and the yummy seaweed business
Lee, Lyla
Paper Book
Fresh Off the Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this first novel in an adorable new chapter book series about Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl who is starting a snack business! Mindy Kim just wants three things: 1. A puppy! 2. To fit in at her new school ...

Bridging Fiction (Grade 2-4)

The year of the dog : a novel
Lin, Grace.
Paper Book
This funny and profound debut novel by prolific illustrator Lin tells the story of young Pacy who, as she celebrates the Chinese New Year with her family, discovers this is the year she is supposed to "find herself." Illustrations.

Children's Fiction (Grade 3-5)


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