Lunar New Year
It's that time of the year again, where my family celebrates one of the biggest holidays in our culture — Chinese New Year!**
This year, the lunar new year lands on February 1, and we're celebrating the year of the tiger! 🐯 Here's a quick roundup of our favourite LNY books and goodies ❤️
The Book Featuring Diverse LNY Celebrations
👉 Tastes of Lunar New Year (available in both English & Bilingual English/Chinese)
The beloved creators of the Big Cities Little Foodies series created this beautiful book featuring a rhyme that introduces young readers to the different foods eaten at this time of year. Unlike other books on the holiday that are focused mostly on Chinese practices, Tastes of Lunar New Year is inclusive of Singaporean, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Korean traditions too!
The bilingual title even includes an audio reading in Mandarin and Cantonese!
That Jaw-Dropping LNY Pop-up Book
👉 Happy Chinese New Year 歡樂過新年 (Chinese)
This popup book is probably one of the most *intricately* designed pop-up books around this festival. The amount of DETAIL this books has, is amazing! Whether it's the elaborate scene of the new year market, to all the little interactive contraptions, to the "food" stickers that you can "place" on the dinner table...
In fact, it's sooo beautifully designed, I didn't bring it out until this year when my 4yo is old enough to really appreciate it (having learned from all the book surgeries I've done for many other books from when they were younger 😅)
The Book for Hong Kong Culture
👉 Unhappy Chinese New Year 新年怎會不快樂 (Chinese)
This title has a special place in my heart because it is written and illustrated by a Hong Kong artist, with the story itself set in Hong Kong.
While Chinese New Year is generally viewed as a happy and joyous time for many families, it isn't necessarily the case for everyone, especially those in lower-middle class Hong Kong, who may have to continue to work through it to keep food on the table.
I love love love all the little details of Hong Kong the artist included in the illustrations, plus the little easter eggs he included (look for the kitty!)
It is also a good reminder of the growing wealth divide in Hong Kong (not often discussed), but told in a kid-friendly and light-hearted way.
The Other LNY Interactive Pop-up Book 🤪
👉 Chinese New Year! 過年啦!(Chinese)
If the earlier pop-up book is all about elaborate and intricate three-dimensional scenes, this pop-up book is more about smaller interactive pieces, like the little kid you can pull out to dress in 3 different outfits, or the red pocket you can remove that will pop-up when you open it, or beautiful end page design that feature an interactive traditional calendar ❤️
The "Mostly Indestructible" LNY Book
👉 Busy Chinese New Year 好棒的農曆新年 (Bilingual English/Chinese)
Want a book that is interactive, but also toddler-friendly?? Does such a thing exist? Why yes it does, and it's bilingual to boot!
This title is originally written in English, and features a rhyme that describes the things we do in Chinese New Year. A traditional Chinese translation was added inline by the Taiwanese publisher.
The book features thick board book pages, with "knobs" and "handles" made of the same thick material, so you don't have to worry about leaving it out with your toddler who may or may not like to destroy books, like mine does 😅
Stickers! Because who doesn't love stickers?
Chinese New Year Sticker Pack (Set of 2) 新春大吉貼紙
Created by Hong Kong artist duo at All Things Bright and Beautiful, this sticker pack features all the auspicious greetings said around new year, paired with adorable original illustrations by the artists. Perfect gift for your little sticker-loving reader :)
The Option for the Impatient 🤪
Lunar New Year Craft Pack 新年手工套裝 (Digital)
Need something right now to do with your little ones and don't want to wait for physical things to ship? Check out this digital craft pack created by certified teacher and the ever talented crafter, Pauline from Sweet Note Learning.
Her activity booklet from last year was extremely popular with families (it's one of our bestsellers!). We're thrilled she's decided to come back this year with a new craft pack, featuring templates for red pockets for the 12 different zodiac animals, a tiger lantern, and a lion dancing marionette!
It comes in both full colour, and a printer-friendly black-and-white format :)
... and more!
We can't cover everything here, but browse all the other lunar new year themed books and stationery we carry here at Little Kozzi ☺️
**Note: I am consciously using the term Chinese New Year here because I'm Chinese, and that's what my family celebrates. BUT please be aware that the lunar new year is not just celebrated by Chinese people (who btw, are a larrrrge group of people, and many often celebrate it differently depending on region). All this is to say, lunar new year is celebrated by many other cultures too, and they may call it by different names ☺️