Celebrating Chinese New Year: A Bilingual Book in English and Mandarin with Traditional Characters, Zhuyin, and Pinyin

Toddler-PreS–This bright, bilingual board book focuses on vocabulary for family members as the characters prepare for Lunar New Year. Each spread has one side of text that includes large traditional Chinese characters with Zhuyin and Pinyin, and the English translation at the bottom. In all languages, the words for the different family members are highlighted. On the other side of the spread is a simple stick-figure paper cutout illustration of the action described, such as “Little sister and I make dumplings together.” As Chinese family labels are often different depending on age to the speaker or side of the family, the last spread is a family tree with three generations of family vocabulary, many of which were introduced in the text. With an emphasis on family, this book doesn’t have an explanation of the holiday-related actions, making it a good choice for families that already celebrate or a starting point for families who aren’t familiar with the holiday.