With Lunar New Year coming up, you might want to read some books about the holiday with your kids at home or at school. (If you’re looking for Chinese New Year activities specific to the year of the dragon, check out this post.) I recently found a couple of new books that are so cute and would be great additions to your library.
Lunar New Year by Natasha Yim features a little girl name Ling and her family getting ready for and celebrating the new year. They clean the house for good luck, clean the Kitchen God, gather flowers, make and hang banners and go shopping for new outfits, lanterns and food in preparation for the new year.
The book explores the rituals and traditions of the 15 days of new year celebrations in China, including the symbolism of different foods, flowers, colors and symbols. Illustrations show the family coming together for a meal, celebrations in the street and the New Year parade complete with the lion and dragon dancers.
The back of the book includes more facts about Lunar New Year, including new year’s greetings in Mandarin and Cantonese, the history of Chinese New Year, the Chinese zodiac, some riddles (because riddles are sometimes attached to the lanterns at the lantern festival that concludes the celebrations), a recipe for dumplings, a lucky red envelope craft and information about how the Lunar New Year is celebrated around the world. There’s even a little quiz in the back if you want to test your knowledge after reading!
About the book: 48 pages, hardcover, published 2023 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $14.99.
The Lucky Red Envelope by Vikki Zhang is a lift the flap book with 12 flaps on each of the 12 spreads, so there are 144 flaps to lift and things for kids to discover.
It’s baby Ru’s first New Year, and big sister Yue is excited to show her everything she needs to know. This book features what looks like a younger family and a more realistic drawing style than Lunar New Year. The flaps add extra cuteness and more information about the things shown in the pictures, such as the fact that Ru’s tiger hat is lucky because tigers are guardian creatures, or that a blue carnation symbolizes peace. Some of the flaps feature cheeky little gods or ancestors, and other things to look out for in the pictures. There are also some riddles on the lantern festival page.
This book also includes some of the important preparations and traditions of the new year celebrations, as well as the legend behind shooting off fireworks on New Year’s Eve. There’s a page about the zodiac and how the animals were chosen, with a flap for each animal.
If you have a kiddo who loves flap books, this is a great choice.
About the book: 24 pages, hardcover with flaps, published 2023 by Wide Eyed Editions, suggested retail price $22.99.
If you want to learn more about the Chinese zodiac and how it came to be, check out The Great Race by Christopher Corr. The Jade Emperor decides to hold a race and the 12 fastest animals will have a year named after them. Sleepy cat misses out, but rat, fox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster and pig make it in time to be part of the zodiac. (And cat and rat remain enemies to this day!)
About the book: 32 pages, hardcover, published 2018 by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, suggested retail price $12.99.
