China Books and Resources for Children

These are some of our favorite China Books for children we have come accross. They are a good introduction to the different themes, anything from the Great Wall to Chinese Festivals. They are all nicely illustrated, some include Music CDs or CD-Roms with interactive activities to draw the kids into the stories and keep them engaged. We have indicated the recommended age group for each book. We encourage you to visit your local library and check them out. Some of them are certainly keepers we have enjoyed paging through them again and again. If you find that you want to buy them as well, we would appreciate you using one of the links provided on this page to the Amazon.com Site. We receive a small commission from all items sold through any of our links which help us maintain this site, and we also donate part of the proceeds to Save The Children.

Thank you for visiting and we hope you come back and share your favorite books as well, here is how to Contact Us.

All prices current as of May 1, 2009

China Books for Kids - Learn more about China
	China (DK Eyewitness Books) $10.87 Ages: 9 and up. DK Eyewitness Books are some of our favorites. This is one of their first "Country Books" and they do a remarkable job at highlighting topics that take you from traditional China to a modern day-to-day China: language, family life, festivals, religion, food... With the wonderful color photos, clip art CD and poster included, this book is a keeper. "Eye-popping...It's a text, but also a trip educators, students and parents can enjoy taking together." -- Minnesota Educator magazine
	Ancient China (DK Eyewitness Books) $10.87 Ages: 9 and up. Learning Chinese History has never been more fun! The First Emperor, the Silk Road, the teachings of Confucious, and more... we enjoyed the section on Chinese inventions... that came from China?... This book is one of a series on Ancient Civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, are also wonderful. ...a mini museum between the covers of a book. [Eyewitness series] -- The New York Times
	Welcome to China (DK Children's Books) $3.99 Ages: 6-8. This book is ideal for children who are beginning to read alone. It is the closest thing to a "China Travel Guide for Kids" we found. As with the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, the wonderful photographs, illustrations and stories for this age group, let children find out about China's history, its culture and what day to day life is like now. This is a small booklet which can be easily carried while traveling. Explanations are short with pictures on all pages. Kids get a glimpse at China's major cities, all from traditional Hutongs to the Maglev train, as they learn about Pandas, the Three Gorges Dam, the Terracotta Army... This book is part of the DK Readers series, the multilevel program that encourages reading skills as well as general knowledge. This book is a Level 3, for children reading alone but not yet proficient readers.
	D Is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet $12.21 Ages: 4-8. A fascinating glimpse into Chinese culture for younger children. Two rhyming sentences for each letter of the alphabet highlight people, places, and things commonly associated with China, including the Great Wall, pandas, Chinese New Year, kites... Beautiful graphics with text for the younger child to understand are accompanied by additional detailed explanations on each page, allowing this book to grow with your children. A is for Acrobats... B is for Beijing... C is for Chopsticks... kids will learn all about lanterns, kites, woks, the Great Wall...
	A Musical Journey: From the Great Wall of China to the Water Towns of Jiangnan $24.95 Ages: 4-8. This colorful book and its accompanying music CD bring Ming and Kim, who guide you through different regions of China dressed in their local costumes. As they travel the Silk Road and gallop through Inner Mongolia, children will enjoy learning about the different ethnic groups in China, their culture and history. Each page represents a region and has its own music track: "One can almost visualize running horses of the Mongolian steppes or a caravan of camels along the Silk Road." -- Claire Bonfils, mother of 2 adopted Chinese girls.
China Books for Kids - The Great Wall of China
	You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China!: Defenses You'd Rather Not Build $9.95 Ages: 4-8. This book is not only about the Great Wall, but an excellent and fun way to illustrate life in Ancient China. It has been used in classrooms as support material. The book is packed with facts and graphics making it a fun learning experience for the kids. This book is part of the "You wouldn't want to..." series of books covering other Ancient civilizations, including the popular "You wouldn't want to be a Roman Gladiator!" and "You wouldn't want to be an Egyptian Mummy!"
	The Great Wall: The story of 4,000 miles of earth and stone that turned a nation into a fortress $9.95 Ages: 9 and up. Tells the story of the events leading up to the building of the Great Wall, from the battles and conflict between the Han Chinese and the Nomadic Mongols and throughout the various Chinese dynasties. The abundant graphics, map and timeline add much to the story and keep the youngsters interested. This book is part of the "Wonders of the World" book series, which also include tittles as "Taj Mahal: A Story of Love and Empire" and "The Great Pyramid: The story of the farmers, the god-king and the most astonding structure ever built"
China Books for Kids - Xian's Terracotta Army
	The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China $12.23 Ages: 9 and up. A Story of hidden arrows, a poisoned king, hidden treasures... It tells the story of how the first statues were discovered by the farmers and the archaeologists later discovery of thousands upon thousands of figures after being buried for more than 2,000 years. It also touches on the story of Emperor Qin and his measures in building the army to protect him in his afterlife. The many color photographs, computer images, maps and charts draw children and adults alike into this fascinating story behind one of China's greatest archeological treasures.
China Books for Kids - Activity Books
	Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities and Recipes $14.28 Ages: 4 and up, some of the activities adequate for older children or to make with adult supervision. Chinese New Year, the Moon Festival, the Lantern Festival... some of China's famous festivals, the legends, customs, foods and fun crafts to get ready for the festivities. A beautiful watercolor painting introduces each festival. The book is organized by following the Chinese traditions/festivals through the course of a year. Stories, recipes, activities are paired with each holiday to give you a full sense of what happens on each one of these special occasions.
	Celebrating Chinese New Year: An Activity Book $8.95 Ages: 5-10. Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun-filled craft, activity and resource book. In addition to basic facts and history of the Chinese New Year and Chinese Zodiac, you can make a dragon parade, a paper lantern, and red lucky envelopes following simple directions and examples in this activity book. An excellent resource for parents and teachers! More Children's Books about Chinese New Year on the next section.
	Chinese Princess Sticker Paper Doll $1.50 Ages: 4-8. These are tiny books perfect for keeping little girls busy while on the road. The 19 stickers are re-usable to make up five elaborate costumes for a little royal lady. Dress her in gorgeous robes, jeweled headdresses, and a dragon bridal jacket. Great play value for the money. Also excellent as souvenirs and stocking stuffers. This book is part of a series of paper dolls from all over the world.
China Books for Kids - Chinese Festivals: Chinese New Year
	Hiss! Pop! Boom! Celebrating Chinese New Year $11.01 Ages: 4-8. This is one of our favorites, the brush painting drawings and calligraphy are beautiful, the stories wonderfully told, easy for the children to follow and understand what Chinese New Year is about. The book covers the highlights of this traditional fest, the Lion Dances, Firecrakers, the Family Fest, Red Envelopes, the Parades and the culmination with the Lantern Festival. "Hiss!" and "Pop!" snap the firecrackers. "Boom!" says the drum to the Lion Dancer. Chinese New Year is here! Beautiful Chinese brush painting and elegant calligraphy illustrate each moment of the New Year celebration. Share the traditions with your child, and learn a few new things too!
	Chinese New Year For Kids $9.95 Ages: 3-12. This is a hands-on workbook for parents and teachers, for use in the classroom or at home. Children will enjoy the party ideas, dragon parades, lion dances, art projects, and zodiac games. The art projects are designed to be easy, as well as inexpensive to reproduce for large groups. This is a wonderful book for parents and teachers who need help with ideas to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Return from China Books for Children to Chinese Culture

Back to China Family Adventure Home Page