This year Lunar New Year is celebrated around the world on Friday, February 12th. NYPL is celebrating with lots of book roundups, author talks, crafts, and programs for families and kids of all ages. Check out our celebration page here. 

The Early Literacy team has compiled a list of our favorite books in English (with many titles also available in Chinese) that celebrate the holiday. Share these titles with your little one to learn about Lunar New Year traditions and give a warm welcome to new beginnings. 

Grace Lin’s Bringing In the New Year, about a Chinese American family’s preparations for the holiday, and Li-Qiong Yu’s A New Year's Reunion, about a young girl who is reunited with her father on this special day, are fantastic books to introduce families to Lunar New Year traditions.

Lunar New Year features lots of bright colors and festive decorations. Rich Lo’s Chinese New Year Colors, featuring both English and Chinese words for colors, and Roseanne Thong’s Red Is a Dragon: A Book of Colors are beautiful books to explore the colors of the New Year with. Plus, count along to author Vickie Lee’s bilingual numbers book, 12 Lucky Animals! 

To explore folktales involving the Lunar New Year, we recommend Andrea Wang’s The Nian Monster, about the return of the legendary Nian monster at Chinese New Year, Ying Chang Compestine’s The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale, about a family who receive new year’s luck with a magic wok, and Natasha Yim’s Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, about a young girl who is sent to the home of the pandas next door for turnip cakes—but what happens when they are all out of cakes?

The Early Literacy team wishes a meaningful and joyful holiday to all who celebrate Lunar New Year!