15 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Books for Kids in Chinese & English
ByBetty 8 min read
To learn about 中秋节 (Zhōng qiū jié / Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival), my children and I are having fun reading English and Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival books. This year, we were able to add a couple books on Chuseok (Harvest Festival) from a Korean perspective.
For any given theme, we try to read a variety of books so that we can learn about how different authors and illustrators might interpret and present information. This post features some of our favorites which I hope you can find at the library, Amazon, Chinese or Korean bookstore!
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What is 中秋节 (Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival)?
中秋节 is a centuries-old Asian celebration about the full moon and coming harvest. During this special festival, families would reunite, enjoy spherical fruits and mooncakes, and decorate their home with Chinese lanterns.
This year, 中秋节 holiday falls on September 13, 2019.
Popular folktales include 嫦娥奔月 (Cháng’é ascending to the moon) and 玉兔搗藥 (Jade Rabbit making the elixir of immortality).
Since Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the lunar calendar, it’s the perfect time to learn about moon phases and read picture books about the moon!
Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival books on our bookcase display
Here’s a peak at Mid-Autumn Festival books on display on our bookshelf! All of our books are in simplified Chinese and English, but some are available in traditional Chinese and Korean.
In this list, I have included the ISBN and links to online bookstores. Many of these books are also compatible with Luka Reading Robot.
Admittedly, we have too many Mid-Autumn Festival books! Can you tell that I’m trying to compensate for Asian guilt and the lack of culture in my life? 🙂
However, I hope that you are able to find some of these at your local library to save on cost! Perhaps choose which illustrations you think your child will like best, and which length of text matches your child’s developmental level.
Please see my detailed review of 保冬妮’s beautiful story 满月 (Full Moon) for ISBN information and more photos. This is hands-down one of our favorite picture books!!
中秋节之嫦娥奔月 is available on Amazon and is part of the Chinese Library Series – Pre-Intermediate Level Folktales. Please see that post for detailed review with photos and ISBN information.
Please note that the accompanying CD did not work for us in a regular audio CD player because it was a VCD that required a computer CD player.
《中秋节》 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Book
This book is part of the popular 中国传统节日绘本全套10册 Traditional Chinese Festival Set of 10 books.
Personally, we don’t like the cartoonish illustrations as much as the realistic pictures in the aforementioned books. However, I’m including it since it’s one of the few books with Hanyu Pinyin and free Mandarin audio narration.
作者 (Author): 牟文正
Where to buy:
Simplified Chinese with Pinyin / ISBN: 9787511037657
This book is part of another popular series about Chinese food traditions and festivals that we adore! I love how the dad is involved with cooking with the kids. Each page shows the steps involve in making mooncakes.
Author: 林文佩
Where to buy:
Simplified Chinese with Pinyin / 9789814791243
Popular Bookstore (in Singapore stores, not available online)
Originally written in English, Grace Lin’s popular book has been translated in Chinese as well! Our favorite page is when Little Star eats the big mooncake bite by bite, with the resulting shape appearing like moon phases!
This adorable book is loved by my kids, and we’ve read it dozens of times. A little bear “talks” to the moon by thinking his echos are the moon’s voice.
Audio recording of 月亮, 生日快乐 on Ximalaya: click here to listen.
It think most parents know this classic book from their own childhood! The English version has a great rhyme, and the Chinese translation is pretty catchy as well!
Here’s an recording of Goodnight, Moon in Taiwanese Mandarin from Miss Panda Chinese! See if you like the translation before buying the Chinese version!
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Books in English
1. 《小星星的大月饼》A Big Mooncake for Little Star
Originally written in English, Grace Lin’s popular book has been translated in Chinese as well! Our favorite page is when Little Star eats the big mooncake bite by bite, with the resulting shape appearing like moon phases!
Of all picture books listed here, this book is much more detailed and advanced with long pages of rich narrative. This story is different from the others listed here as it’s not about the history of Mid-Autumn Festival. Rather, this is a tale adapted from Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club.
In this version of Mid-Autumn Festival, a grandfather tells the story of Hou Yi who shot down the nine suns. Then Chang’E takes his potion of immortality before the thief can take it.
This book was recommended by many of you, so I had to add it to our list! We haven’t had the chance to read it, but Amazon reviews rave about how the story focuses on parents sharing the history of Mid-Autumn Festival with their children.
Hi! Thank you so much for recommending Lin Yi’s Lantern book in English! Looks like a great book; I have just ordered it and am excited to read it with my children!
《爸爸，我要月亮》 Bàba, Wǒ Yào Yuèliàng / Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me
《爸爸，我要月亮》 Bàba, Wǒ Yào Yuèliàng / Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me
This book is good too. “The Shadow In The Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival”. by Christina Matula. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.
Thank you for the recommendation! 🙂
Our Chinese is nowhere good enough to read the Chinese books yet.
But we do love Lin Yi’s Lantern (an english book).
Hi! Thank you so much for recommending Lin Yi’s Lantern book in English! Looks like a great book; I have just ordered it and am excited to read it with my children!