My daughter is really interested in Chinese New Year this year, and she loves anything to do with dragons. So we had a lot of fun reading children’s books about Chinese New Year and pairing it with some fun crafts inspired by the stories.

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Nian the Chinese New Year Dragon

Written by Virginia Loh-Hagan and illustrated by Timothy Banks

In this story, a young girl named Mei is visited by a magical warrior on the night before the first day of Spring. She is told that it is her destiny to fight and defeat Nian, the fierce dragon that terrorizes her village in the spring. She only has 15 days to defeat the dragon, or he will be freed. As Nian begins to attack the village, Mei finds new ways to scare him off, and she encourages the villagers to help her. Each defeat of Nian brings forth another tradition of the Chinese New Year. The book includes a note from the author, sharing background on the legend of Nian and the traditions of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Lunar New Year

Written by Hannah Eliot and illustrated by Alina Chau

This small book explores the various customs, decorations, and traditions of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The text is very informative, but easy to read, with bold fonts on new vocabulary words. The illustrations show family members of all ages preparing for the festival and celebrating together. They are full of beautiful colors and decorations, encouraging the reader to want to learn more about the holiday.

Ruby’s Chinese New Year

Written by Vickie Lee and illustrated by Joey Chou

Ruby celebrates Chinese New Year with her grandmother every year. But this year, her grandmother can’t make it to their celebrations. So Ruby decides to make her a beautiful drawing and take it to her. Along the way, she encounters the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. As she meets each animal, they join her on her journey. When disaster strikes and her picture is ruined, Ruby is worried that the holiday will be ruined as well. But her grandmother reminds her what is really important to celebrate: family and friends. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful, and the back of the book includes an introduction to the animals of the zodiac. There are also instructions for creating paper lanterns and paper fans of your own.

Cupcake Liner Dragon

This fun and easy project uses cupcake liners to create your own dragon inspired by Nian. First, I separated a bunch of paper cupcake liners and laid them on the table. My daughter and I then folded them in half and I cut a slit in the center of the folded side. We then threaded them onto two craft sticks, creating a pattern with colors. I cut a dowel in half and glued one half to each dowel, hiding it between two of the liners. Then we glued the liners down along the craft stick, and attached the two craft sticks to make a long dragon. Finally, we folded another liner in half, then in another third, so it creates a point for the dragon face, and glued it to the front of the line. We then added eyes and a dragon mouth. She had a lot of fun creating her own dragon face and parading her dragon puppet around the room.

Related Post: How to Be a Good Dragon

Paper Lanterns

These paper lanterns are easy for kids and parents to make together, and they help kids to work on their scissor skills as well. To start, we folded a sheet of red construction paper in half and I drew straight lines from the folded edge to about 1-2 inches from the other side. These lines were spaced about an inch apart. Next, I gave my daughter her scissors and she cut along each line, stopping before she reached the unfolded edge. Finally, we unfolded the red paper and shaped the lantern in a tube shape, securing the ends with tape. I slipped a tube of yellow tissue paper into the center to create the lit look. I used a hole punch to create two holes in the top of the lantern, on opposite sides, then attached a piece of string so she could hang it in her room.

Bonus Book and Activity!

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao was written by Kat Zhang and illustrated by Charlene Chua. This story follows a young girl named Amy Wu as she attempts to create the perfect bao with her family. Her parents and her grandmother excel at creating bao, but no matter how hard Amy tries, she just can’t seem to get it right. After lots of trial and error, Amy finally figures out her own unique way to create the perfect bao, while also learning that even the imperfect ones are still delicious.

The back of the book even includes a recipe for making bao at home with your family! This would be a fun way to bring the book to life, while also trying a new recipe together. Check out this post to learn more about teaching kids in the kitchen, and the benefits they can get from cooking with you!

What are your favorite children’s books about Chinese New Year? Share in the comments below!

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