As we’re getting accustomed to the beginning of 2025, we have another new beginning just around the corner—Chinese New Year! On Wednesday, January 29th, we bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon and welcome the Year of the Snake, symbolizing reflection and personal transformation.
This widely-celebrated holiday begins on the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends around 15 days later, on the first full moon. For those who celebrate, notably throughout China, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia, the two weeks of Chinese/Lunar New Year are packed with festivities and traditions. Head to our collection of Chinese New Year activities to learn more!
Wherever you are, celebrate this holiday by reading books about Chinese culture—such as the ones we’ve selected for this celebratory collection of Chinese New Year books!
Children’s Books about Chinese Culture
These three books for kids are excellent ways for young readers to practice their literacy skills while learning about Chinese culture and celebrate this Chinese New Year in their own way.
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim
For the youngest readers interested in picture books illustrating the brilliance of Chinese New Year traditions, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas is a beloved choice ahead of the year of the snake.
A major theme in new year celebrations around the world is luck, especially for Chinese New Year. When Goldy Luck’s mother asks her to bring some homemade turnip cakes to their neighbors, she stumbles into a sticky situation where she must problem-solve to fix her mistakes. Readers, teachers, and parents love this retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears for its thoughtful discussion and portrayal of Chinese culture around the time of this important holiday.
Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
Another picture book for younger elementary students, Ruby’s Wish is about a young girl in China a hundred years ago—a contrast to the modern world of Goldy Luck. Ruby doesn’t wish for marriage like her peers; instead, she wants a strong education. Follow Ruby as she aspires to earn her university acceptance, diverging from the traditional path for girls and women in her time.
Readers love Ruby’s ambition and determination, the book’s colorful illustrations of China around 1900, and the lovingly-told, inspirational story written by Yim Bridges—based on the real experiences of her grandmother!
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The final children’s book we are featuring is a magical adventure novel that draws from Chinese folklore. Inspired by the captivating tales her father narrates each night, Minli sets on an adventure to find the answers to life’s questions and the way to remedy her family’s fortune.
Readers love the cast of colorful friends and foes that Minli meets on her adventure, Lin’s heartwarming humor, and the way resourceful, ambitious Minli perseveres to help her family live a better life. From the mud-covered, ramshackle Village of Fruitless Mountain to the towns of Never-Ending Mountain, follow Minli as she seeks the Old Man of the Moon and a brighter future.
Middle Grade Fiction Books for Chinese New Year
Upper elementary and middle schoolers who want to expand their perspectives while celebrating Chinese New Year will be captivated by these excellent fiction novels about Chinese culture.
Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan (Translated by Helen Wang)
Middle school readers will be transported to rural 1960’s-70’s China in Bronze and Sunflower. Sunflower, an only child of a single father, is sent away from the city life she’s used to. When she loses her father, the poorest family in the village takes her in—she and Bronze, their non-speaking son, understand one another and become inseparable friends.
This heartfelt story about the power of friendship in the face of poverty and loss teaches universal lessons that reflect traditional cultural values. Cao Wenxuan’s imagery captures the distinct setting, and his storytelling (which won him the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016) develops a beautiful tale that will stay with readers for years to come.
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
Chinese/Lunar New Year is primarily celebrated in China and nearby countries, but the holiday has now evolved past borders with global immigration. Many countries now have Chinese New Year celebrations held in communities of Chinese immigrants; the “Chinatown” of big cities. Our next featured novel follows Moon Shadow, who encounters the struggles that come with immigration as he moves to San Francisco to live with his father.
While Moon Shadow had never met Windrider, he quickly grows respect and love for his ambitious father as he attempts to create a flying machine. (Based on a true account from 1909!) Yep masterfully articulates the difficulties of accustoming to a new culture and eloquently captures post-earthquake San Francisco in 1903 as the backdrop to Moon Shadow’s story.
Chinese New Year-Related Reading for Young Adults
Older students looking for a Chinese New Year read or two will appreciate the compelling craft of these authors’ acclaimed works. From contemporary tales to historical fiction, all of these books are great choices when it comes to Chinese New Year novels.
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim
Somewhere between realistic fiction and fantasy lies Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune. Filled with regret, Natalie returns to the San Francisco Chinatown home she grew up in after the news of her mother’s death. Their last conversation was an argument seven years ago, when Natalie left to pursue her dream to be a chef against her mother’s wishes. Now, she returns to a neighborhood of struggling businesses and empty homes that seems like it’s falling apart.
When she learns that she’s inherited her grandmother’s restaurant that has been closed for years, Natalie discovers a new dream for herself—to rejuvenate the neighborhood and carry on her grandmother’s legacy while fulfilling her own culinary ambitions. If you want a feel-good read this Chinese New Year, pick up Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune to explore family secrets, changing neighborhoods, and mouth-watering recipes.
Empress by Shan Sa
This Chinese New Year, read Empress to transport yourself to Tang dynasty China and follow the life of Wu Zetian, the first and only female emperor of China. Living inside the Forbidden City, the imperial palace in Imperial City, Beijing, she saw firsthand the daily political scheming and plots of those searching for power. Driven by ambition, she climbed her way to the top, marrying Emperor Gaozong and supporting his reign until he gave her the throne.
Empress Wu is known for ushering in a golden age, reforming governance, improving education, and quelling threats of war and famine. Author Shan Sa’s writing style is meticulous and captivating, and readers particularly love how she describes the many traditional ceremonies that take place. Those interested in Chinese history and strong female characters will especially love Empress.
Peking Duck and Cover by Vivien Chien
If you’re looking for the perfect cozy murder mystery this winter, Peking Duck and Cover is #10 in Vivien Chien’s mystery series, Noodle Shop Mystery—and it’s the perfect installation to start with this Chinese New Year!
Protagonist Lana Lee helps set up an extravagant Chinese New Year celebration for her community, and everything is shaping up to make it a memorable evening—but at the end of the night, a dancer from the iconic lion dance performance is found dead backstage. Join Lana and her friends as they solve this mystery, set against the backdrop of Chinese New Year, magnificently detailed by the author.
Bonus: Reading for the Year of the Snake
This Chinese New Year is celebrating the start of the Year of the Snake! So, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention a few snake-y books to celebrate.
The Chinese zodiac is made up of twelve animals, each of which symbolizes certain characteristics and has associations with luck, compatibility with others, and personality traits. Those born in the year of the Snake are said to be wise, charming, and adaptable. In the spirit of this Year of the Snake, try one of these reads about or involving snakes!
Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee
If you’re in the mood for a romance novel, Legend of the White Snake is a YA historical fantasy retelling of the classic Chinese tale of the same name. The spirit of a white snake transformed into a person, Zhen, comes across Prince Xian, who is on a mission to hunt down a white snake for the antidote to his mother’s fatal illness.
Readers love the instant connection between the two leads and the detailed worldbuilding throughout the novel.
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Nina is a Lipan Apache teenager who loves to write and translate the stories of her family, and Oli is a cottonmouth snake from the Reflecting World (the world of monsters and spirits).
A Snake Falls to Earth is told from both of their perspectives, drawing on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling to craft a tale about friendship and the importance of storytelling in-itself.
“Snake” by D. H. Lawrence
To close out this collection of celebratory and snake-related reads for Chinese New Year, take a few minutes to read “Snake” by poet D. H. Lawrence. Lawrence’s work is significant in the Imagist movement, focused on stylistic simplicity and clear-cut, precise imagery. While the snake is a biblical symbol of evil and cunning, it is often also a symbol of health (think of the caduceus, originating in Greek mythology) as well as longevity (in Chinese mythology, for instance). Lawrence takes the latter view and describes a snake in a different light in “Snake”.
“He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do,
And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more…”
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