Chinese New Year is one of the most popular celebrations that has been adopted around the world.
What's not to like? It is a chance to eat yummy Chinese food, put up colourful decorations, to let off fireworks and watch parades. It is exactly what we need in the UK at the most dreary time of year.
Here are 10 books for younger children to learn all about Chinese New Year with lovely illustrations and simple language, along with some books with Chinese New Year activites.
From the creator of The Gruffalo comes a lovely story for Chinese New Year - The Magic Paintbrush .
Chinese girl Shen can paint steaming pots full of fish and oysters to feed the hungry people in her village, but when the evil emperor hears of her gift, he commands Shen to paint gold for him instead.
Lanterns and Firecrackers is simple introduction to the Chinese New Year festival. Follow a family as they let off firecrackers, watch the amazing dragon dances and light their beautiful lanterns to celebrate the start of their New Year. Lovely illustrations and clear explanations.
Chinese New Year is a time of new beginnings. Follow one little girl as she experiences My First Chinese New Year and all the festivities surrounding it. This warm and lively introduction to a special holiday will make even the youngest child want to start a Chinese New Year tradition!
If you are looking for ideas for activites to tie in with Chinese New Year, the Chinese New Year Activity Book is a bold activity book with colorful craft ideas, recipes, games and mazes, stickers, will be a winner. It even has press-out pieces to create a Chinese New Year festival street scene to display in your home.
In Chinese New Year's Dragon, a young girl describes the customs and rituals surrounding the celebration and imagines herself in Ancient China, riding on a dragon, and watching the celebration unfold. The artwork is appropriately festive, and the illustrations of the family's holiday are mouthwatering.
Chinese New Year - We Love Festivals is aimed at children aged 4-7 in Foundation Stage and KS1 classes. Describing how Chinese people prepare for New Year by cleaning their house and having their hair cut, how people around the world scare the monster Nian away with fireworks and watch the dragon dance in the street. With lots of interesting and unusual facts about Chinese New Year it includes a chart so that kids can work out what Chinese year they were born in.
The Runaway Wok is a comic tale of Chinese New Year which reminds readers about the importance of generosity. When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they'll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family's house with a "skippity-hoppity-ho!" and returns from the rich man's home with a feast in tow!
The Chinese New Year is designed to help teachers in the classroom. There are accompanying CDs, worksheets and suggested activities to tie in with the book.
Chinese New Year (Holidays and Festivals) focuses on how families celebrate Chinese New Year to ensure luck in the coming year and celebrate the approach of spring. This book covers the sights, sounds, foods, and gifts of this special holiday and discusses the importance of Chinese New Year around the world.
In Dragon Dance it's Chinese New Year and there are so many fun things to do! Shopping at the outdoor market for fresh flowers, eating New Year's dinner with the whole family, receiving red envelopes from Grandma and Grandpa, and best of all-watching the spectacular Chinese New Year's parade. A lovely lift-the-flap book.
About eParenting: eParenting was started by Jacqui O'Brien in 2004. At the time her kids were 1 and 4 and kept her nice and busy. Now they are teenagers and still keeping her pretty busy!