Guò nián hao! 8 Books to Help You Celebrate the Lunar New Year!

Happy Lunar New Year! This holiday is a big deal in China and other East Asian cultures with festivities often lasting for weeks at a time. Families come together to clean and decorate their houses, cook and eat delicious feasts, and celebrate the New Year with fireworks and parades. Here are eight (a lucky number in China!) books about some of the holiday's highlights and traditions.

The Zodiac

The Great Race by Dawn Casey
This book shares the Chinese folk tale about how each specific animal got its place in the zodiac. Look up your sign and learn about your animal's unique qualities!

Ruby's Chinese New Year by Vickie Lee
Ruby has a card for her grandmother to celebrate the Lunar New Year and she enlists the help of the animals of the zodiac animals to help deliver it. Includes ideas for holiday crafts!

Parades and Fireworks

Red Is A Dragon by Roseanne Thong
What is the significance of the bright colors of the Chinese New Year celebration? From fireworks to dragons, this book paints a vibrant picture.

Dragon Dance by Joan Holub
This lift-the-flap book will charm little ones as they seek for treasures on every page. Culminates in a spectacular parade.

The Food

Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
An Asian-American girl living in Hawaii is excited to help make the dumplings for the New Year celebration, but she worries when they don't look so perfect.

Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen
For mastering the art of making a variety of scrumptious homemade Asian dumplings, try this cookbook with clear instructions and detailed illustrations.

All Of The Above

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
A Chinese-American family prepares for and celebrates the New Year—from cleaning to decorations to dumplings to lion dancers!

Happy, Happy Chinese New Year by Demi
Infused with joy and filled with information, this book explains the rituals and ideas behind the extended monthlong Chinese New Year celebrations.

Does your family celebrate the Lunar New Year? What are your favorite books about it? Let us know! And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily book recommendations, literary tidbits, and more.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon