Where to Buy Chinese Books? Best Online Chinese Bookstores

When I first began to learn Chinese with my kids, I spent months researching where to buy the best Chinese books. Since my family lives in a small town in California, we have no local Chinese bookshops or libraries. We’re thankful for online Chinese bookstores that help us create a Chinese learning environment at home!

Betty Lunar New Year books / Chinese books for kids
Me (Betty Choi) with books from our Lunar New Year Lesson Plan

Where to buy Chinese children’s books online?

I’ve rounded up the best online Chinese bookstores in the United States.

Since Chalk Academy readers are located all over the world, I’ve also included popular bookshops from Canada, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Many of these bookstores ship internationally!

Chalk Academy is reader-supported. Some of the links are affiliate links. When you buy something through an affiliate link, we may earn a very small commission at no additional cost to you. More details here.

Best online Chinese bookstores in the United States

These online Chinese bookstores are categorized by simplified Chinese versus traditional Chinese books and learning materials. Many of these stores also feature fun Chinese learning gadgets and cultural toys.

Best simplified Chinese bookstore: JoJo Learning

JoJo Learning Online Chinese Children's Bookstore in the United States of America
  • Website: jojolearning.com
  • Website Language: English
  • Based in Marietta, Georgia, JoJo Learning has the best Chinese children’s books and reading gadgets. You can order individual books and sets or sign up for their book subscription program. JoJo Learning is also the North American retailer of Luka Reading Robot and Youdao Dictionary Reading Pen. The website is easy to navigate, and they are our preferred store for Chinese books.

Best Taiwanese Chinese American culture store: Yo! Baby Shop

Yo! Baby Shop Taiwanese American bookstore for families
  • Website: yobabyshop.com
  • Website language: English, Traditional Chinese
  • This online store in Los Angeles features Chinese books and Asian furniture, clothing, toys, and other accessories. They also have a brick-and-mortar store in the City of Industry.

Best Taiwanese American traditional Chinese bookstore: Mr. and Mrs. Books

Mr and Mrs Books
  • Website: mrandmrsbooks.com
  • Website language: Traditional Chinese, some English
  • Based in Los Angeles, California, this online bookshop was created by two parents dedicated to bringing traditional Chinese books and popular booksets to Americans.

Largest online Chinese bookstore in the United States: China Sprout

China Sprout online Chinese bookstore in NYC
  • Website: chinasprout.com
  • Website language: English
  • Based in New York City, this is the largest collection of simplified and traditional Chinese books for all ages in the United States. Although the pricing is often higher than other bookstores, they carry Chinese books that are often unavailable at other American stores.

Best Christian Chinese bookstore: Tien Dao

Tien Dao Christian Bookstore

Best online Chinese bookstores in Canada

Wondering where to buy traditional Chinese books in Canada? Here are the best options.

Little Kozzi Chinese children's Books for Candian Parents

Little Kozzi

  • Website: kozzi.ca
  • Website language: English
  • This online bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, features traditional Chinese books and flashcards. Products can be delivered to your home or picked up in Bloor West Village.

Yuto

  • Website: yuto.ca
  • Website language: English
  • Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, this online bookstore features traditional Chinese picture books, bridge books, flashcards, reading pens, and board games.

Try this: 15 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Read

Best online Chinese bookstores in Asia

If you’re fluent in Chinese, international shipping is sometimes the most affordable way to stock up on a large selection of children’s books.

Best simplified Chinese bookstore in China: Jing Dong (JD.com)

jingdong JD.com online marketplace in China
  • Website: global.jd.com
  • Website language: Simplified Chinese; see Pay Space Magazine for a detailed guide to navigating the website.
  • This Chinese retailer features an enormous selection of books, movies, and music at low prices. They also sell toys, stickers, clothing, and other cultural items. Note that overseas shipping costs have increased dramatically in recent years.

Best traditional Chinese bookstore in Taiwan: Books.com.tw

Books.com.tw online Chinese Taiwanese bookstore
  • Website: books.com.tw
  • Website language: Traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, English (Change language at top right corner of website by clicking on the world icon)
  • This is Taiwan’s largest internet retailer.  They have a vast selection of books, movies, toys, clothing, and other Chinese cultural products. They offer fast, but very expensive, international shipping.

Best traditional Chinese bookstore in Hong Kong

Seeks Hong Kong bookstore

Seeds Hong Kong

  • Website: seeds.com.hk
  • Website language: Traditional Chinese
  • This Hong Kong-based online retailer sells books, toys, and games. They offer international shipping.

Best simplified Chinese bookstore in Singapore: My Story Treasury

Wondering where to buy Chinese children’s books in Singapore? You’re in luck! My Story Treasury features a wonderful collection.

My Story Treasury Online Chinese bookstore in Singapore
  • Website: mystorytreasury.com
  • Website language: English
  • My Story Treasury is a Singaporean bookstore with simplified Chinese books for young children.

Where to buy secondhand used Chinese books in the United States

Check your local library for used book sales, especially if you’re in a diverse city. Many Chalk Academy readers have shared amazing finds from library sales!

If you’re on Facebook, your city’s parenting group is the best place to check.

What are your favorite online Chinese bookstores for children’s books?

Where do you typically buy Chinese books for your children or students? Please share your shopping experience in the comments. We’d love to learn from you!

Tips on how to teach children Chinese reading

11 Comments

  1. I love your site! Thanks so much for compiling such an extensive list of bookstores and categorizing it between Simplified and Traditional. I also spent a ton of time looking at your book recommendations tonight and have a list to buy + borrow from the library. Your site is invaluable for an ABC mom that’s trying to get her kiddos fluent in Chinese. Thank you!

    1. Hi Allene! Thank you for taking the time to write! I’m so glad to hear that the website is helpful for your family :-). Feel free to reach out if I can help with anything along the way!

  2. Thank you for your blog. It has been very helpful during the Covid period where we are doing more at-home learning and I am more able to focus on Chinese learning.

    To add to your list – in Canada, there is an online bookstore founded by a Vancouver Taiwanese mom. It’s https://ibookiee.com/ 愛塔豬. – good collection of Traditional Chinese books. I use both ibookie and Little Kozzi, depending on what I am looking for.

    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to write! I’m so happy to hear the website has been helpful for your family. And thank you sharing about this Chinese Canadian bookstore!

  3. Hello, I just wanted to add. Prior to discovering this website and a whole community of parents, I stumbled across Asian Parent. The website looks like it needs a bit of updating, but they are real and I have ordered from them (based in US). The nice thing is descriptions are written in English which makes browsing a lot easier for me. They have both simplified and traditional books.

    1. Thanks so much for the recommendation! For anyone who’s reading this article now, the Asian Parent online bookstore shut down a couple years ago.

  4. Dangdang http://www.dangdang.com is great, super low prices and ships internationally for pretty cheap (shipping to USA is charged as 100% of the value of books purchased). No need to buy from different sellers like Taobao and everything is handled charged and shipped directly to you by Dangdang. International credit cards accepted no shipping forwarding funny business necessary. Only drawback is you seem to need a Chinese cell phone number to create an account although it may be possible to login via WeChat.

  5. Hi Betty,

    I am so glad I found your site. Thank you for giving me the tips and resources for kickstarting my Chinese learning journey with my almost 3.5yo daughter! A question I have is how you were able to read picture books in Chinese to her while being nonfluent yourself? Did you have to write the pinyin at the bottom of the page for every page for every book??

    1. Hi Grace! Thank you so much for taking the time to write! When I first started learning Chinese, I had post-it notes on every page and wrote Pinyin and English translations for every word. As I gradually learned more words, I began to put the post-it note at the front or back of the book and only write down the words I didn’t know to force myself to try to read without peeking. I never wrote in any books though as I wanted my notes to be removable! Hope that helps!

  6. Hello from Toronto!
    I find your web page super helpful! thank you for putting the information together. I’m trying to introduce cantonese to my 3.5 year son. English is the dominant language at home. He has been very resistant each time i try to ‘teach’ him chinese. I went to https://www.ximalaya.com/ to see if they have audio books or stories narrated in Cantonese. I don’t think I saw any? My chinese reading skills are lacking. haha. Anyway, Thanks for the information!

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