Dragon Boat Festival Books for Kids in Chinese and English
Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 / 端午節 (Duānwǔ Jié) is an important Chinese holiday that occurs near the summer solstice in June. Thanks to the best Chinese Dragon Boat Festival books, children can learn about the festival no matter where they are.
All of the Dragon Boat Festival books in this list are “own voices,” meaning that the authors share the same cultural identity of the stories. Since we’re raising bilingual children, we’re sharing books published in English and Chinese.
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What is the Dragon Boat Festival?
For those new to the Dragon Boat Festival, the holiday commemorates the life and death of the famous scholar 屈原 (Qūyuán).
屈原 was a poet and an important official in China. Banished into exile by the emperor for perceived disloyalty, 屈原 drowned himself in the Miluo River.
In an attempt to rescue 屈原, people rowed boats and threw 粽子 (zòngzi / sticky rice) into the river to prevent the fish from eating 屈原‘s body.
Eventually, these events led to the annual Dragon Boat race and the custom of eating 粽子, sticky rice filled with various foods wrapped in leaves.
Since suicide is a trigger topic that many parents are concerned about discussing, I’ll explain which of these books mention 屈原’s death in the list below.
Other Dragon Boat Festival resources for kids
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival Books in English
These fantastic books about Dragon Boat Festivals were published in English by Chinese American authors.
Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival
This nonfiction book gives a wonderful overview of the Dragon Boat Festival for elementary school children. Fun facts about Chinese history are paired with colorful illustrations, simple crafts like paper boats, and a yummy sticky rice dumpling recipe. Important Chinese phrases are sprinkled throughout the book with Pinyin and English translations.
Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival
Although this title resembles the chapter book above, it’s an illustrated storybook about a child, Mei, who enjoys special traditions like making 粽子 and watching dragon boat races. The child’s grandfather explains the story of Qu Yuan and mentions that he “fell in despair and tossed himself into the Miluo River.” But people tried to rescue him by throwing 粽子 into the river.
Awakening the Dragon
Awakening the Dragon is a history-based picture book for older children who want to learn more about the Dragon Boat Festival. Content warning: this book describes how the poet Qu Yuan drowns himself by jumping into the river with a rock strapped to his body. Realistic illustrations accompany the detailed passages.
Dragon Boat Festival Books in Chinese
Here are some Chinese Dragon Boat Festival books that your family might enjoy! I hope you can find them at your local library or favorite online Chinese bookstore.
*Many Dragon Boat Festival books published in simplified Chinese (简体) are compatible with the Luka Reading Robot. The Luka Reading Robot narrates stories in Mandarin.
端午节 / 端午節 3D book
This fun 3-D pop-up book brings Chinese culture to life! Almost every page features interactive flaps or wheels to excite kids about Chinese decorations, Dragon Boat Festival food, and Dragon Boat Races!
About half of the Chinese words in the traditional Chinese edition (繁體) are paired with Zhuyin. This book also comes in simplified Chinese (简体).
Dragon Boat Festival 中国记忆传统节日-端午节
This Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 book is one of our favorites! It is available in simplified (简体) and traditional Chinese (繁體)! The illustrations highlight family bonding while making crafts and 粽子 (zòngzi / sticky rice). They also watch the Dragon Boat races together. *简体 edition compatible with Luka Robot*
The Duanwu Festival 端午节之屈原的故事
This book focuses on the history of the poet 屈原 and how he was banished to exile by his emperor for perceived disloyalty. When the emperor failed to listen to 屈原’s advice, a sad 屈原 jumped into a river and died. People took long boats to the river to rescue 屈原 and threw 粽子 in an attempt to prevent the fish from eating 屈原‘s body. (Note: This story doesn’t elaborate on his suicide beyond jumping.)
今天我们包粽子
This adorable book focuses on kids helping grandma make 粽子 for the Dragon Boat Festival! Non-fluent readers will be thrilled to know that every Chinese character has Pinyin phonetic support.
My kids love all of Singapore author Lin Wenpei’s books celebrating signature Chinese foods for special holidays!
小粽子,小粽子 / Little Sticky Rice
This cute picture book features anthropomorphic 粽子 with only one line of text per page. The book teaches about two types of 粽子 (sweet versus salty) in a lighthearted way: the 粽子 debate about which flavor is better. Fish in the river also join the debate, but in the end, all of the 粽子 become friends and ride in a dragon boat together.
What are your favorite books about the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival?
Have you read any of these books with your children or students? What other Dragon Boat Festival Books do your kids like? Please share your review and recommendations in the comments below.
