Lunar New Year

Ling and her family are preparing for Lunar New Year. There’s so much to do! She and her sister Mei sweep away bad luck and evil spirits, polish the statue of the Kitchen God, and pick fresh flowers. They buy new outfits and red lanterns and hang Chinese poems on either side of the door – upside down on purpose!

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family sits down to eat together and exchange presents. And the following day is the parade, with firecrackers, drums, and dragon dancers. The whole 15 days of Lunar New Year are exciting, but Ling’s favourite thing is having her family all around her.  

This is a very sweet tour of all the traditional activities that families do during the two weeks of Lunar New Year. The illustrations are brightly colourful, with lots of lucky red!

After the story, there are 16 extra pages at the back, with further information and suggestions for activities, like making dumplings or lucky red envelopes. This is a book that can be read with young children, but will also extend to primary school age with the activities and extra details about the traditions of this festival.