There's a Book for That: Lunar New Year
Welcome Lunar New Year! The Lunar New Year marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar traditional to many Asian countries. Also known as the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year falls on a different day every year. In 2025, the Year of the Snake begins on January 29th. To honor the occasion, we offer the following recent and acclaimed fiction and nonfiction for all ages with a focus on family and intergenerational stories. Visit here for more information from PBS.
FEASTS OF GOOD FORTUNE: 75 RECIPES FOR A YEAR OF CHINESE AMERICAN CELEBRATIONS, FROM LUNAR NEW YEAR TO MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL AND BEYOND (CHINESE COOKBOOK) by Hsiao-Ching Chou, Meilee Chou Riddle
75 recipes for a full year of celebrations with family and friends the Chinese American way in this deeply personal intergenerational cookbook. Cowritten with Hsiao-Ching’s 17-year-old daughter, Meilee, reconnecting with her Chinese American heritage as a young adult, this deeply meaningful cookbook is an exploration of what it means to grow up in a “forever hyphenated culture” and celebrates the joy of the mother-daughter bond in cooking together.
STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE: A NOVEL by Ye Chun
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence
A Chinese railroad worker and his young daughter—sold into servitude—in 19th century California search for family, fulfillment, and belonging in a violent new land in this sweeping historical novel of the American West from the little-seen perspective of those who helped to build it. Straw Dogs of the Universe traces the story of one Chinese father and his young daughter, desperate to find him against all odds.
REAL AMERICANS: A NOVEL by Rachel Khong
An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures? Lily Chen is the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Her fifteen-year-old son Nick has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where they live. He can’t shake the sense his mom is hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.
THE GREAT RECLAMATION: A NOVEL by Rachel Heng
Set against a changing Singapore, a sweeping novel about one boy’s unique gifts and the childhood love that will complicate the fate of his community and country.
1000 YEARS OF JOYS AND SORROWS: A MEMOIR by Ai Weiwei, Allan H. Barr
In Ai Weiwei’s memoir, “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial Times) tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father, the nation’s most celebrated poet.
36 WAYS OF WRITING A VIETNAMESE POEM by Nam Le
In his first international release since the award-winning, best-selling The Boat, Nam Le delivers a shot across the bow with a book-length poem that honors every convention of diasporic literature—in a virtuosic array of forms and registers—before shattering the form itself.
ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS: A NOVEL by Ocean Vuong
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation.
FOR YOUNGER READERS
WE ARE LION DANCERS by Benson Shum
As Lunar New Year approaches, a colorful costume catches the eye of siblings Lily and Noah—the lion dancers are practicing for the parade! As they learn what the lion dance means, the duo dives into helping prepare, even making their own lion costume for fun. Complete with even more facts about the legend of the lion dance in the back of the book, young readers will want to revisit this story again and again.
LUNAR NEW YEAR: A CELEBRATION OF FAMILY AND FUN by Mary Man-Kong, Michelle Jing Chan
Every year, millions of Asian families come together to celebrate the first new moon in the sky. Now preschoolers can learn about the zodiac animals, the delicious food, the exciting parades, and all the fun traditions. Filled with colorful illustrations and simple, yet informative text, this Big Golden Book is perfect for reading again and again to the whole family. Happy Lunar New Year!
BORN NAUGHTY: MY CHILDHOOD IN CHINA by Jin Wang, Tony Johnston, Anisi Baigude
Paired with delightful, kid-friendly illustrations, this early middle grade memoir invites readers to join Jin and her family in the outskirts of Inner Mongolia to remind us that though we all have different customs and traditions, we are more alike than not, and that mischief lives within all of us.
SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT by Amélie Wen Zhao
In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation’s past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.
For more information on these and related titles visit Lunar New Year
There’s a Book for That! is brought to you by Penguin Random House’s Sales department. =
Did you see something on the news or read about something on your commute? Perhaps you noticed something trending on Twitter? Did you think: “There’s a book for that!”? Then please, send it our way at theresabookforthat@penguinrandomhouse.com