Chinese New Year Books for Kids

Chinese New Year reading comprehension activities and book suggestions for the primary classroom.

This blog post introduces four strong Chinese New Year books to read to your students around Chinese New Year. This holiday changes each year around January and February. Stock up on your read alouds to help your students learn more about the holiday. Each of the books listed below comes with an Amazon affiliate link for you.

#1 Chinese New Year Read Aloud

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

Things I love about it: fractured folk tale, illustrations, sequencing, great compare and contrast lesson

Synopsis: Goldy has to deliver turnip cakes to her neighbors to wish them good luck. She started her journey off with bad luck by spilling the turnip cakes, but once she got into the house she got distracted. First, she smelled three bowls of congee to try out (just like Goldilocks!). After the Congee, she got a bit tired and wanted to try sitting down. She tried out a few chairs, but broke the chair perfectly sized for her. Finally, she decided she was still so sleepy, so she needed to find a bed to lay down in. When the Chans come home, they find the turnip cakes on the floor, their congee eaten, their chairs broken, and Goldy laying in Little Chan’s bed. The ending of this book is a big different from Goldilocks, though. Goldy must right her wrongs.


#2 Chinese New Year Read Aloud

Ruby’s Chinese New Year by Vickie Lee

Things I love about it: kid-friendly illustrations, sequencing lesson, animal chart included in back

Synopsis: Ruby’s grandmother can’t make it to their family Chinese New Year celebration. So, Ruby decides to set out to deliver a gift for her grandmother. First, she runs into cat and rat on her journey. Then, they run into Ox. Throughout the rest of the book, the reader follows Ruby and her new animal friends on a journey. When something goes wrong along the way, the animals help figure out a way to still make a great gift for her grandmother.

#3 Chinese New Year Read Aloud

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

Things I love about it: illustrated symbols at the beginning of the book, diverse names represented, fold out page for full illustration

Synopsis: The main character visits each of her family members before the Chinese New Year. Each of these family members is getting ready for the new year by participating in traditions surrounding the holiday. Throughout the book, the reader learns a lot about what people do to prepare for the holiday and what they do to celebrate the holiday.

#4 Chinese New Year Read Aloud

How to Catch a Dragon by Adam Wallace

Things I love about it: rhyming, great illustrations, ties in cultural elements to teach the holiday

Synopsis: This story starts out with a boy prepping for the new year with his mom and grandma. They’re prepping food for the new year, while the boy is setting up the street decorations with his friends. That’s when they spot the dragon! With each trap that the kids set, the readers are learning more and more about the new year.

More Chinese New Year reading ideas…

(Link: Chinese New Year Flip Book)

This Chinese New Year activity includes a mini flip book plus a craft topper for decorations. This is perfect for learning about Chinese New Year while having interactive fun and creating a great wall display for the kids and school to see. This product helps teach students about the Chinese New Year. The passage gives facts and information about when the new year begins, what traditions they do, and more. There are follow-up comprehension activities for the passage, plus a cute boy and girl flip book topper!

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Thanks for reading this blog post all about Chinese New Year reading suggestions. Good luck implementing these read-alouds and reading activities in your classroom!

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