Lunar New Year is a time for family reunions, red envelopes, dumplings, lion dances and wishes for the year ahead. These picture books help children learn about the holiday’s traditions and the feelings behind them, whether your family celebrates or you are discovering it for the first time.
1. Ping’s Perfect Pot
by Helen H. Wu, illustrated by Zihua Yang; Beaming Books, 2025
Knead, mush, mash. When Ping and Grandpa bring home a tangerine tree for Lunar New Year, Ping decides to make the perfect pot for it. But making a pot is hard: the first is clumsy, the second crumbles and the third is too flimsy.
2. Bringing In the New Year
by Grace Lin; Knopf, 2008
A Chinese American family gets ready for the new year by sweeping away the old, getting haircuts and making dumplings, ending with a fold-out dragon parade.
3. A New Year’s Reunion
by Yu Li-Qiong, illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang; Candlewick, 2011
Little Maomao’s father works far away and comes home only once a year, for Chinese New Year. A tender story about family reunion.
4. Ruby’s Chinese New Year
by Vickie Lee, illustrated by Joey Chou; Henry Holt, 2018
Ruby travels to her grandmother’s house for the new year, meeting the animals of the zodiac along the way.
5. Lunar New Year
by Hannah Eliot, illustrated by Alina Chau; Little Simon, 2018
A gentle first look at Lunar New Year traditions, from cleaning the house to sharing a reunion dinner. Great for toddlers and preschoolers.
6. The Nian Monster
by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Alina Chau; Albert Whitman, 2016
When the legendary Nian monster comes to Shanghai, clever Xingling uses New Year foods to outwit him.
7. Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book
by Joan Holub, illustrated by Benrei Huang; Puffin, 2003
A playful lift-the-flap book that follows a family through the celebration, all the way to the dragon dance parade.
8. Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year
by Kate Waters and Madeline Slovenz-Low, photographs by Martha Cooper; Scholastic, 1990
A photo story of six-year-old Ernie as he prepares for his very first lion dance in New York’s Chinatown.
Celebrating with little ones? Ping’s Perfect Pot has back matter explaining Lunar New Year traditions and symbols, and Beaming Books offers a free educator’s guide.
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More picture book lists
- 15 Best Children’s Books about Lunar New Year
- 12 Best Lunar New Year Picture Books
- 12 Picture Books About Food, Family and Culture
- 20 New Must-Read Children’s Picture Books For AAPI Heritage Month
Browse all of Helen’s picture book lists, or see all of Helen’s books.
