Happy Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian countries including Vietnam, China and South Korea. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and lasts for 15 days. Some people call this Chinese New Year, but this term does not represent the variety of countries that celebrate this holiday. So it is preferable to use Lunar New Year when describing this holiday. Here is a collection of Lunar New Year books for kids!
I’m sharing all of these books on video as well! Check out the Lunar New Year Books for Kids on my Youtube channel.
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Lunar New Year Books for Kids
Friends are Friends Forever by Dane Liu
When Dandan moves to America, making a new friend makes life and learning a language easier. Dandan invites her new friend to celebrate Lunar New Year at her house, just like she used to in China with her best friend there. The new friends eat special food and make red paper ornaments together in a celebration of friendship.
The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang
As Xingling and her Po Po decorate their home with red decorations, Po Po explains about the terrible Nian monster who ate villages until he was defeated by loud sounds, fire, and the color red, traditions that keep him away. But, suddenly the Nian monster appears, and not only is he not scared of the red decorations, but he is hungry. Clever Xingling outsmarts the monster with another favorite Lunar New Year tradition — food!
Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn
During Lunar New Year, a young boy encounters a homeless person and discovers that no gift is too small when it comes from the heart.
Sam can hardly wait to go shopping with his mom. It’s Lunar New Year’s day and his grandparents have given him the traditional gift of lucky money-red envelopes called leisees (lay-sees). This year Sam is finally old enough to spend it any way he chooses. Best of all, he gets to spend his lucky money in his favorite place – Chinatown!
But when Sam realizes that his grandparents’ gift is not enough to get the things he wants, his excitement turns to disappointment. Even though his mother reminds him that he should appreciate the gift, Sam is not convinced – until a surprise encounter with a stranger.
A Sweet New Year for Ren by Michelle Sterling
Ren wants to help her parents cook for Lunar New Year, but they tell her she’s too little. When her big brother Charlie comes home, he shows her how to roll out the dough for pineapple cakes. Then the family and their extended family and friends gather to celebrate with delicious foods, including pineapple cakes.
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
Gorgeous, color-filled artwork and simple text narrate the story of a girl and her family getting ready for the New Year. Ba-Ba hangs poems, Ma-Ma makes dumplings, Jie-Jie sweeps the house. When it’s time to celebrate, there will be fireworks, lanterns, lion dancers, and a dragon parade.
Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade by Lyla Lee
I love this second book in the Mindy Kim beginning chapter book series even more than the first. It’s Mindy’s first Lunar New Year since her mom died. Despite her best efforts to make the right Korean New Year foods, it just doesn’t feel right. But, her dad and new friends help her find joy in familiar traditions and make her own, new traditions.
Chloe’s Lunar New Year by Lily LaMotte
It’s almost Lunar New Year, and Chloe can’t wait to celebrate! But first, Chloe and her family must prepare for the new year. They buy new shoes, lay out good-luck oranges in a bowl, decorate the red envelope, and make a crispy turnip cake. Everyone comes together to cook a fantastic feast, saving a plate for A-má, of course. Chloe enjoys the festive celebration and yummy food, but most of all, she loves spending time with her family.
The back-matter contains educational facts about the Lunar New Year celebration in Taiwan and a fun recipe for a yummy fortune cake!
Free Picture Book List
Looking for more books to read aloud with your students? Grab this FREE list of books to teach Social Emotional Learning skills! SEL skills are more important than ever before. This book list of social emotional learning topics will make it so much easier to teach these skills to your students. The titles are split up by SEL skill and competency. This will make it easy for you to teach just one at a time!
Save this Book List
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to this book list when you are ready to read them aloud with your students.
