The new year signifies new beginnings and fresh starts. These books look at different new year traditions around the world including the lunar new year and religious new year celebrations. Falling in many different months of the calendar year, this look at new year around the world opens readers’ eyes to the diverse and vibrant ways new year is celebrated. Read on to find out about Nowruz, Songkran and Matariki.
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Holidays Around The World: Celebrate Chinese New Year
by Carolyn Otto
Review: Celebrate Chinese New Year is another great addition to National Geographic’s Holidays Around The World series. Copious bright photographs bring this colourful celebration right off the page. Carolyn Otto documents what the Chinese New Year looks like in actuality, from families travelling to join one another to food traditionally shared to the possible stories centring around Nian.
Watch below to see inside the book.
Suggested Reading Age: 3 to 8 years old. I feel this is more accessible to the upper end of this age bracket.
New Year Traditions Around The World
by Ann Malaspina (Author), Elisa Chavarri (Illustrator)
Review: Including new year celebrations in Thailand and Haiti, this colourful, well-written book presents readers with some new year festivals not often found in children’s books. Packed full of photographs and lively drawings, there is plenty here to draw readers in. Inset maps highlight where in the world the celebration is taking place.
Suggested Reading Age: 5 to 8 years old.
Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon
by Virginia Loh-Hagan (Author), Timothy Banks (Author)
Review: An award-winning book, Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon is a modern retelling of the ancient Chinese legend. This stunningly illustrated book, tells the story of Nian, the all-powerful and destructive dragon, who can only leave his lair in springtime. Mei, the story’s heroine, is visited by the warrior who cast the spell to imprison Nian in her dreams. He tells her that she must defeat the dragon as his spell is weakening and Nian will be free to roam forever. The catch? She only has fifteen days to accomplish this task. Written in accessible language, with captivating images, this is a wonderful introduction to the origins of Chinese New Year.
Suggested Reading Age: 6 to 8 years old.
Every Month Is A New Year: Celebrations Around The World
by Marilyn Singer (Author), Susan L. Roth (Illustrator)
Review: Every Month Is A New Year is a joyful collection of poetry celebrating new year around the world. Marilyn Singer quickly dispels the notion that the new year begins in January or on the lunar new year and opens up a world of diverse religious and non-religious festivals to her readers. Stunning, highly detailed, collages accompany the text, providing a talking point by themselves alone. Every Month Is A New Year makes a wonderful, eye-opening introduction to different new year celebrations and provides a perfect springboard to delve deeper and find out more about these days.
Suggested Reading Age: 7 to 10 years old.
Religious New Year’s Celebrations
by Ann Morrill
Review: In this book, Ann Morrill hones in on new year celebrations that are religious in nature. She takes an in-depth look at Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, Al-Hijra and Matakari, exploring the origins and history behind the celebrations. Having provided an overview of the festival, Morrill then explores how these are celebrated in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, North America and Oceania. These chapters highlight the regional differences and traditions when celebrating these religious new year festivals. Religious New Year’s Celebrations makes for a highly informative and interesting read.
Click here to see inside the book.
Suggested Reading Age: 10 to 13 years old.
Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year
by Najmieh Batmanglij
Review: A lovely concept, readers learn all about Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as they cook delicious recipes traditionally associated with the celebration. Batmanglij begins by explaining the history of the holiday, before moving onto describing how Persians prepare and celebrate the festival. She shares activities that she did with her children to welcome Nowruz, adding a nice personal insight and touch. The clear instructions are accompanied by clear photographs showing the different steps. Recipes include yogurt and cucumber dip, noodle soup and sweet almond berries. An informative “Calendar Index” provides additional insights into Nowruz and the Persian calendar.
Click here for a further look inside the book.
Suggested Reading Age: Children to adults. This is a great book for families to explore together.
Happy Reading!
Other Festivals & Celebrations Posts You May Enjoy:
Christmas: Exploring Celebrations Around The World
Hanukkah: Exploring Celebrations Around The World
Diwali: Exploring Celebrations Around The World
Spectacular Celebrations & Fabulous Festivals
Click Here For More Social Studies Posts
Do YOU know any great new year books? If so, please leave a recommendation below .