Chinese American children's books, toddler to age 8

Good Chinese American children's books show families eating, gardening, arguing about dumplings and flying kites, not only celebrating Lunar New Year. The list below is sorted by age, every title is verified in a library catalog, and several won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. After the list there are a few ways to turn a book into a coloring page about your own family, plus links to our holiday guides.

How we picked: the APALA lists

The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association gives its literature award to works reflecting Asian American and Pasifika experiences created by Asian American, Asian Canadian and/or Pasifika authors and illustrators. That makes its picture book winners and honor books a reliable shortcut to stories told from inside the community. Where a book below is not on those lists, we say what it is about and let you judge.

We also left out titles already covered elsewhere on this site. For Grace Lin's Bringing In the New Year and other holiday reads, see our Lunar New Year coloring pages. For mooncake stories, see Mid-Autumn Festival coloring pages. For grandmother stories like Dumplings for Lili, see grandmother books from every culture.

For toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2 to 5)

Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin. A child describes the little dishes of dim sum her family shares on a visit to a restaurant in Chinatown. Very short text and big shapes. Point at each dish and ask which one your child would pick.

Kite Flying by Grace Lin. A girl describes how her family makes and flies a kite. Good before a windy weekend, and an easy craft afterwards.

The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. A girl thinks her mother's garden is the ugliest on the street until she learns that Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all. It includes a recipe. Grace Lin's chapter book The Year of the Dog was an APALA honor book.

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang. Amy wants to make a dumpling like her parents and grandmother do, but hers are always too empty, too full, or not pinched together properly. A gentle book about trying again, and a natural lead-in to making bao together.

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho. A young Asian girl notices her eyes look different from her friends' and realizes they are like her mother's, her grandmother's and her little sister's. A warm book for the first time someone comments on your child's face.

For ages 5 to 8

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin. A girl is embarrassed to gather watercress from a roadside ditch until she learns why the plant matters so much to her parents. It was the APALA picture book winner. Quieter and more serious than the toddler picks, and a good opener for "what was it like when you were little?"

Father's Chinese Opera by Rich Lo. A boy wants to join his father's Chinese opera and learns that you must work hard in order to reach your goals. An APALA honor book. The costumes and painted faces make great drawing prompts.

Paper Son by Julie Leung, illustrated by Chris Sasaki. A picture-book biography of Tyrus Wong, the Chinese American immigrant who brought Disney's Bambi to life. It won the APALA picture book award. Pair it with a paintbrush and water on paper.

Queen of Physics by Teresa Robeson. The life of physicist Wu Chien Shiung, born in China at a time when girls did not attend school. Another APALA picture book winner. For the kid who asks a hundred questions.

The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. A first chapter book about a young Taiwanese American girl trying to find her talent during the Year of the Dog. Read a chapter a night.

Quick guide by age

Age	Start with	Why
2 to 3	Dim Sum for Everyone!, Kite Flying	A few words a page, everyday family scenes
3 to 5	The Ugly Vegetables, Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners	Short stories about food, trying and faces
5 to 8	Watercress, Father's Chinese Opera, Paper Son, Queen of Physics	Bigger feelings and real history
7 and up	The Year of the Dog	A first chapter book

All of these are in the Seattle Public Library catalog, so your own library can very likely borrow them, and some have Chinese-language editions. Read them in whatever mix of English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taishanese or Hokkien your family actually speaks. Our guide to bilingual coloring books has ideas for a family word book.

Turn a book into a coloring page about your family

The books above work best as a starting point for your own family's version.

• Draw the meal. After Dim Sum for Everyone!, draw the table at your family's favorite restaurant or your own kitchen: steamer baskets, a teapot, chopsticks, and everyone around the table. Let your child color who sits where.
• Draw the garden or the market. After The Ugly Vegetables or Watercress, draw the vegetables Grandma grows or buys. Label them in English and in your family's language.
• Ask a grandparent one question. "What did you eat when you were my age?" Write the answer under a drawing of them.
• Trace a real photo. Pick a clear photo of your child making dumplings or flying a kite, and trace it onto paper against a window. Our guide to turning a photo into a coloring page for free covers easier methods too.

A storybook where your kids are the ones at the table

We are making a Chinese American coloring storybook of our own, about a girl pouring tea for her family at dim sum, and a Taiwanese American one about a night market shopping list. Both are written and reviewed, and neither is on sale yet. Today, Colorkin can also turn your own family photos into a coloring storybook, drafted with AI illustration tools and finished by a person who checks every page for likeness.

For more holiday and heritage ideas, browse our family and heritage guides or see heritage coloring books for making your own family book at home.

Questions parents ask