Happy Lunar New Year! To help celebrate Lunar New Year this January 22, 2023, I’m excited to share some of mai favorite festive read alouds and bookish crafts!

What is Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year is the beginning of the new year based on the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar is based on cycles of the moon and sun, and is generally 21-51 days behind the Gregorian (internationally-used) solar calendar that begins the New Year on January 1st.

Lunar New Year signals the beginning of a new year, and the beginning of Spring. The date of Lunar New Year changes every year, but it always falls between January 21st and February 20th. In 2023, Lunar New Year falls on January 22nd.

What is this year’s Zodiac?

In both the Chinese and Vietnamese zodiacs there are 12 animals, but in the Chinese Zodiac the 4th animal is the Rabbit, and in the Vietnamese zodiac the 4th position is occupied by the Cat. Therefore, while most of Asia celebrates the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the Year of the Cat. It is unclear how the Cat replaced the Rabbit in Vietnam’s zodiac, but there are a couple possible explanations. In the Chinese Zodiac Story, Buddha invited the animals to participate in a river race, and the first 12 to reach the shore would be included in the Chinese zodiac. The cat and the rat, who were close friends at the time, decided to walk on the back of a bowl because they couldn’t swim. But as they approached the finish line, the rat pushed the cat into the water – and so the rat won, making the cat and the rat enemies ever since. However, according to the Vietnamese Zodiac story, Emperor Jade, a Taoist god, organized the race, and the cat won its place among the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Another explanation is that most Vietnamese people are farmers and the cat is a helpful companion to them, as it kills rats that threaten crops. The Year of the Rabbit or Cat includes those born in 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023.

Who celebrates Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian countries and other communities around the world, yet it is still commonly referred to as Chinese New Year. Rather than referring to the holiday in general as Chinese New Year, to be inclusive and respectful of all cultures that celebrate, refer to the holiday as Lunar New Year, or use the holiday name associated with each country when appropriate. Here is what Lunar New Year is called in some other countries:

Vietnam celebrates Tết Nguyên Đán (Tết for short)

Korea celebrates Seollal (설날)

China celebrates Chunjie (春节 – in Mandarin)

Mongolia celebrates Tsagaan Sar

Tibet celebrates Losar (Begins February 21, 2023)

How I Celebrate Lunar New Year

I am half-Vietnamese, so I celebrate Tết . One of my favorite Tết traditions is playing the Vietnamese dice game: Bầu cua tôm cá (gourd crab shrimp fish). It’s technically a gambling game, but we play with quarters and it’s all for fun! To play, we place quarters on one of the six images on the game mat. The dealer rolls the dice. If the dice rolls one of the images that we placed our quarters on, the dealer has to double the amount of money we bet!

Another one of my favorite games is Loto, which is Vietnamese Bingo. Whoever gets 5 of their numbers in a row called first, shouts out “Loto!” or “Bingo!” to win.

There is also a tradition where elders give children red envelopes of lucky money called lì xì. The red envelopes symbolize luck and prosperity, but also privacy. Instead of comparing how much money they got, children are encouraged to keep the amount private and regard it as a special gift.

Some of my favorite foods are: Bánh chưng (Vietnamese Square Sticky rice cake), Thịt kho  (Vietnamese Braised Pork with Eggs), and Mứt (Candied Fruits).

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới is how to say *Happy New Year* in Vietnamese.

Books

Below I’m highlighting a collection of Lunar New Year books, including Board Books, Picture Books, and even a Middle Grade Read! In this festive lineup, you’ll find legends of dragons and zodiac tales, colorful glowing lanterns and celebrations of the moon, and festivals of friends and family and feasts galore! *Something to note: Many of the Lunar New Year books available focus on Chinese New Year, and there is a lack of representation of Lunar New Year celebrated by other countries. Hopefully we will see more representation as more #ownvoices are encouraged to share their stories.*

For the full list and collection of Lunar New Year Favorites: 

Click here for the full list of Lunar New Year titles and links to order.

Board Books

It’s Your Year Baby Rabbit by Little Bee Books, Illustrated by Ariel Hsu

Welcome the Year of the Rabbit, 2023! Learn all about the characteristics and personality traits of the Rabbit Zodiac as you read about Baby Rabbit. Baby Rabbit is smart, funny, and generous, and loves to share and make their loved ones happy.

It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George! by H. A. Rey & Maria Wen Adcock

Filled with colorful illustrations and a rhyming text that is easy for young readers to follow, this playful tabbed board book, perfect for little hands, is a great introduction to the celebration of Chinese New Year for fans of Curious George. Join Curious George as he celebrates Chinese New Year with his friend Mei and her family! Learns about many of the traditions of the celebration, including cleaning the house, finding red clothes to wear, hanging decorations, enjoying a family feast, and watching the fireworks and dragon dance.

Mau Cua Tết / The Colors of Tết by Tiny Wrist

Through an exploration of color and shades, littles learn about the traditions of Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The book is written in both Vietnamese and English, and includes a sticker set and a QR code for read alouds.

Baby Loves Lunar Phases on Chinese New Year by Ruth Spiro & Irene Chan

Discover the science behind the lunar phases while celebrating Chinese New Year! Explore the lunar calendar, the moon’s orbit, and the reason the moon seems to change shape through adorable illustrations and informative text.

Lucky Lunar Animals by Lacey Benard & Lulu Cheng

Learn about the 12 animals represented in the Chinese Zodiac, and what characteristics are associated with each one. This bilingual board book is available in simplified or traditional Chinese characters.

Celebrating Chinese New Year by Lacey Benard & Lulu Cheng

Learn all about Chinese New Year traditions while also exploring the different names for family members in Chinese. Available in Simplified of Traditional Chinese characters.

A Monster Named Nian by Gwen Sung

Do you know about the mythical beast named Nian? He comes out once a year to wreak havoc! Learn how the villagers saved the day and how Lunar New Year traditions came to be!

Picture Books

A Sweet New Year for Ren by Michelle Sterling, Illustrated by Dung Ho

A charming and heartwarming story about a young girl named Ren who is excited to celebrate the Lunar New Year with her family. As she prepares for the big holiday, Ren learns about the traditions and customs of the celebration, including the special foods~ especially pineapple cakes~ and decorations that are used to mark the occasion. Includes a recipe for pineapple cakes!

Chloe’s Lunar New Year by Lily LaMotte, Illustrated by Michelle Lee

It’s almost time to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and Chloe can’t wait to join in the festivities! Before the big day, Chloe’s family prepares by buying new shoes, placing good-luck oranges in a bowl, decorating red envelopes, and making a crispy turnip cake. When the time comes for the celebration, Chloe’s family comes together to cook a delicious feast, making sure to save a plate for Chloe’s A-má. The back matter of the book includes educational information about the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Taiwan, as well as a fun recipe for a fortune cake that readers can try at home.

The Tray of Togetherness by Flo Leung

Follow a young girl named Lina as she helps her family prepare for the holiday. As they shop at the market to fill the Tray of Togetherness with 8 special snacks, readers learn about the auspicious meaning behind each treat. Join Lina and her family as they share good wishes with neighbors and friends throughout the day, and then come together to celebrate with a diverse group of family and friends!

Year of the Cat by Richard Ho

The Great Race was used to determine the order of animals in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. However, what happened to Cat, the one animal who never received a year? Discover Rat’s trickery behind leaving Cat behind, and how Cat has a special surprise waiting for him when he comes to make amends.

This is Tết by Tam Bui (Translated from Vietnamese)

A beautiful rhyming picture book that shares Tết activities and customs! Celebrate Vietnamese New Year through the curious eyes of a city kid with her family in a northern Vietnamese village for Tết.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day by Aram Kim //

Mina is excited to share the customs of Seollal, Korean Lunar New Year, with her friends at school. Her little brother may even join, if he can find a way out of his bad mood! Join Mina as she shares more about her colorful hanbok, demonstrated how to do sebae, and even teaches everyone how to make tasty tteokguk!

Grumpy New Year by Katrina Moore

Daisy is traveling to China to visit her Yeh-Yeh! She is excited to celebrate Lunar New Year together~ but due to jet lag, this time Daisy is the one with a bad case of the grumps. Will Yeh-Yeh be able to help her get past her grumpiness and be able to enjoy the fun holiday together?

I Love Chinese New Year by Eva Wong Nava

Mai-Anne is so excited for Chinese New Year~ and it is even more special when her grandmother, Nai Nai, arrives! The celebration starts with a traditional meal filled with special foods, and then the best part: after dinner Nai Nai tells the story of the Great Race, aka how Chinese New Year began! Join Mai-Anne as she learns about the twelve zodiac animals and their special powers in this special Chinese New Year tale.

Tết Together by Alice Trinh & Jade Le

Celebrate Tết, Vietnamese Lunar New Year, in this darling new release that highlights Vietnamese traditions and their significance during this festive time. Tết is a time not only for festivity and celebration, but for togetherness and reflection. Families come together to hang colorful decorations, prepare delicious meals with traditional foods, and sweep out the old year. A beautiful tribute to Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Tastes of Lunar New Year by Cheryl Yau Chepusova & Isabel Foo & Mori Chiang

Celebrate Lunar New Year around the world through food! Join the 12 zodiac animals as they take you on a tour of 12 different special New Year’s dishes from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Korea. Full of colorful foodie fun!

Celebrating Chinese New Year by Eugenia Chu

This introduction to Chinese New Year, perfect for ages 6-9, explains the history, folklore, traditions, and customs of Chinese New Year. Full of fascinating facts and pictures, the book also includes engaging, hands-on activities such as recipes for making Chinese dumplings, and instructions to make paper lanterns and your very on Chinese Zodiac Calendar.

Playing with Lanterns by Wang Yage & Zhu Chengliang

Zhao Di and her friends are excited to celebrate Chinese New Year with their paper lanterns in the evening. Every night, until the 15th day of New Year, Zhao Di and her friends will partake in this evening lantern tradition~ experiencing the thrill of their village at nighttime, admiring the beautiful lantern lights and colors, and avoiding the wind and sneaky village boys! Then, after the 15th day, comes their favorite part: it’s time to smash the lanterns!

Friends are Friends Forever by Dane Liu & Lynn Scurfield

It’s a snowy Lunar New Year’s Eve in northeastern China, and it’s Dandan’s last night with her best friend Yueyue. Tomorrow she leaves for America. For the last time, they complete their favorite wintertime tradition: crafting paper-cut snowflakes, freezing them outside in the snow, and hanging them as ornaments. As they say goodbye, Yueyue hands Dandan red paper and thread to carry on the tradition in her new home. But in American, Dandan struggles to find anyone to enjoy the traditiont with… until a friend comes along.

Our Lunar New Year by Yobe Qiu

Join Xiao Mi, Hang, Kwan, Malai and Charu as they share how they each celebrate the Lunar New Year in their own special way. I appreciate how this book highlights Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian families and how they honor the Lunar New Year.

Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon by Virginia Loh-Hagan & Timothy Banks

A beautiful retelling of the Chinese New Year Nian Dragon legend with an original twist, that explains the origins of Chinese New Year traditions. Mei hates springtime because that’s when the horrible Nian dragon leaves the mountain to come terrorize the village. However, on the night right before spring, a warrior visits Mei in her dreams and tells her that it is her destiny to face and defeat Nian within 15 days, or the dragon will be free forever.

Ruby’s Chinese New Year  by Vickie Lee & Joey Chou

Celebrate Chinese New Year with the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals as they help Ruby deliver a special card to her grandmother. The book includes back matter with a focus on the animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim & Grace Zong

A delightful spin on the classic “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” this retelling is set in a bustling contemporary Chinatown. It is Chinese New Year, and Goldy Luck is tasked with taking turnip cakes to the neighbors. But the Chan’s aren’t home, and Goldy is tempted to try out their rice porridge, chairs, and beds~ with disastrous results!

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

Join a Chinese American family as they prepare for Chinese New Year: make dumplings, hang festive decorations, sweep out the dust of the old year. Get ready for fireworks, lanterns, lion dancers, and an incredible dragon parade! Includes a surprise fold-out page at the end to extend the dragon parade!

New Year by Mei Zihan & Qin Leng

A beautiful story regarding missing family during the holidays. It’s Lunar New Year and a father is especially missing his daughter who moved abroad. He fondly recalls memories of their moments together while she was growing up, but while he misses her, he also recognizes her need to move away, grow up, and become independent. This is a precious story about loving those who are many miles away.

New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-joo Bae

Join a young Korean girl as she dresses up and prepared for celebrating the Korean Lunar New Year. The beautiful illustrations highlight the beauty of the holiday and introduce the traditional hanbok and how to wear it.

Dragon Dancer by Joyce Chng & Jeremy Pailler

It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve, and this year it is Yao’s duty to awaken the great sky dragon, Shen Long, from his year long sleep. Together, it is up to Yao and Shen Long to battle away the bad luck of the previous year and usher in the golden light of good luck for the new year.

How to Catch a Dragon by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton

It’s Chinese New Year, and the kids are eager to catch a dragon! Join this gang of kids as they chase the dragon through paper lanterns, red lucky money envelopes, fireworks and more Chinese New Year celebrations! A fun STEM read for encouraging littles to design their own dragon traps and strategies. Mandarin translations are included at the back to encourage a bilingual read aloud. Scroll Down to check out mai Bookish Craft inspired by the story to brainstorm your own Dragon Trap!

12 Days of Lunar New Year by Jenna Lettice & Colleen Madden

Sing-along to the tune of the classic 12 Days of Christmas song in this Lunar New Year edition. Sing and count 12 different ways to celebrate tradition, culture, and family this Lunar New Year! Includes a sheet of stickers and the most warm and joyful illustrations!

Twelve in a Race by Catherine Little

“TWELVE IN A RACE” is a fun, rhyming read-aloud book that tells the story of the Chinese zodiac and how each of the twelve animals came to be associated with a particular year. Learn about the characteristics of each zodiac animal and how they fared in the Emperor’s great race.

Chapter Book

Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade by Lyla Lee & Dung Ho

Learn more about Korean Lunar New Year with Mindy Kim. Even though this year is the first Lunar New Year without her mom, Mindy is determined to enjoy the holiday by making the traditional Korean New Year food: rice cake soup! However, no matter how hard she tries, Lunar New Year just doesn’t feel the same… With the help of her family and friends, can Mindy find a way to create new holiday traditions while still cherishing her old ones along the way?

Plus, for a sneak peek at these books and Craft Templates Below, check out Mai Little Learner’s Lunar New Year YouTube Video:

Crafts

Prepare for some Lunar New Year festivity with these bookish crafts to extend the learning and play beyond the book. This Lunar New Year, I’m celebrating with some Lucky Money Envelopes and Eastern Dragon Fun! Check out these Lunar New Year bookish crafts inspired below:

*Click on the Images for Craft Templates.*

Interactive Read Alouds

Plus, read along with MaiStoryBook YouTube for interactive, shared-reading read aloud adventures where I ask questions throughout the story, point out main themes and ideas, and introduce vocabulary to keep little learns engaged and participating throughout the story. Check out two of mai Lunar New Year Favorites Below:

Plus, check out MaiStoryBook’s Asian / Pacific Islander Interactive Read Aloud Playlist Here

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I hope you found some reading recommendations to add to your own shelves and share with your littles this Lunar New Year. Please share any other Lunar New Year Titles  to add to this themed collection.

*~Also, I’d love to  see and hear about your own reading adventures you are having with your little learners, so please share your story times below in the comments ~ Or Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary , FaceBook , find me on TikTok, or contact me via email . I’d love to hear from you!~*