Did you know that we celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days? Nice, right? Well, in the spirit of the continued celebration of the Year of the Rat, I have another super cute Chinese New Year board book to share with you and your tiny ones!
Jet Celebrates the New Year, by Virginia Yang, is an adorable Chinese-English bilingual counting board book all about Chinese New Year! Follow Jet (Jia-jia), the most endearing little monkey ever, and see how he spends Chinese New Year day from the time he wakes up to when he goes back to bed! And along the way, learn how to count in Chinese as well as some common measure words (yes, in Chinese, the unit of measure can differ depending on the subject)! As a bonus, not only is this book in English and Chinese, it also includes Pinyin pronunciation so you can “read” (i.e. pronounce) the Chinese, even if you are illiterate in Chinese, like I am!
Your little ones will fall in love with Jia-jia, and you may too (I know I did)! Those familiar with some of the traditions of Chinese New Year will smile and proudly shout, “hey, we do that, too!” Those who are not will learn something new and be exposed to a new language, celebration and culture. However, I do have a warning for you parents and grandparents (and a bit of a spoiler alert), Jia-jai gets not 1, but 8 red envelopes (hong bao)! Perhaps be ready to explain that Jia-jia got 8 because he has 8 parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who each gave him a hong bao! Haha!
Finally, don’t be afraid to let your kids play with this beautiful little book by themselves! It’s super sturdy and seems drool-proof!
If your interested in buying or seeing more about this book, it’s on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com//dp/1733019707/
Happy New Year, everyone! Xīnnián kuàilè (新年快乐)!