Guardians of the New Moon: Ming and Miaow’s Great Race - Selected for Bookbuzz Primary 2026
by Eric Huang, illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang
Interest age: 7 to 9
Reading age: 7+
Published by Little Tiger
About this book
The Jade emperor sighs on his throne, bored with the predictability of the world he has created. He longs for excitement. Then he spots Miaow the cat chasing a rat and an idea strikes him: he should arrange a great race between all the animals on Earth! The prize? The 12 fastest shall each have a lunar year named in their honour.
Miaow cannot resist the lure of this quest. As he begins his journey, he meets the fiery and impulsive Ming, a nine-tailed, elemental fox who can transform into a human girl. Ming and Miaow form a close friendship and together they battle to stay in the race as they journey across a magical landscape.
Readers are introduced to an array of mythical creatures, deities and otherworldly settings from ancient Chinese folklore in this exciting book. Ming and Miaow form a great team and work together to overcome Ming’s sometimes uncontrollable temper.
The story unfurls at pace with short chapters, plenty of action and light humour to keep children engaged. It is generously illustrated throughout, which brings elements of Chinese folklore to life for the reader.
This first title ends by setting up the next as Ming and Miaow become the Guardians of the New Moon – tasked with managing each animal as they administer their lunar year.
About the author
About Bookbuzz Primary
This new programme of expertly curated books and grab-and-go resources for Key Stage 2 has been developed by BookTrust to support you to get your children excited about reading for pleasure.
This book is one of 16 titles specially selected for Bookbuzz Primary 2026.
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