Children’s Books For The Lunar New Year

By Allison Cary | January 25, 2022

Happy New Year! February 1^st, 2022 marks the start of the new year in the lunar calendar. This holiday—usually referred to as the Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival—is celebrated across many Asian countries. It is welcomed with a 15-day celebration that includes fireworks, dances, good wishes, and lots of yummy food!

Each new year is symbolized by an animal in the zodiac and repeats in a 12-year cycle. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. The Tiger symbolizes strength and bravery.

Here are some children’s books that we recommend for learning about the Lunar New Year. For each book, we included a link to Amazon to purchase. We encourage you to link your account with Amazon Smile, so that a small percentage of your purchases go to a charity of your choice. Once you sign up, you can select the Center for Creative Education for donation.

Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade

Ages 6-9

Mindy is preparing for her first Lunar New Year without her mom, but she’s determined to enjoy herself and keep her old traditions, like making traditional Korean food. But things aren’t going as planned. Can Mindy find a way to enjoy her old traditions and create new ones with the people she loves?

Buy it here: Amazon.com: Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade (2): 9781534440104: Lee, Lyla, Ho, Dung: Books

Ruby’s Chinese New Year

Ages 4-8

Ruby has a special card to give to her grandmother for Chinese New Year. On her journey to deliver the card, she meets each of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Buy it here: Ruby’s Chinese New Year: Lee, Vickie, Chou, Joey: 9781250133380: Amazon.com: Books

Golden Blooms: Celebrating Tet-Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Ages 8-12

Golden Blooms explores Lunar New Year traditions in Vietnam with colorful illustrations.

Buy it here: Golden Blooms: Celebrating Tet-Vietnamese Lunar New Year: Tran, Y T: 9780999307915: Amazon.com: Books

The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale

Ages 6-8

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 and returns from the rich man’s home with a feast in tow!

Buy it here: The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale: Compestine, Ying Chang, Serra, Sebastia: 9780525420682: Amazon.com: Books