Since my family lives in a small town in California (United States), we have no local Chinese bookstores or libraries. Therefore, we depend on online Chinese bookstores for quality Chinese children’s books for our home library to create a Chinese learning environment. Finding Chinese books has been extra challenging due to my lack of fluency in Chinese. However, I am thankful for a great selection of online Chinese bookstores that I can regularly shop from or have been recommended by other bilingual parents. Online Chinese bookstores generally carry the following items:
- Books (picture books, bridge books, fiction, nonfiction) in simplified and traditional Chinese
- DVDs
- Audio CDs
- Games and toys
- Cultural clothing and decor
This post explains where to shop depending on whether you want to buy simplified versus traditional Chinese books and learning materials. If you are not sure which script to choose, please refer to this article from Skritter and this article from Hacking Chinese.
Online Chinese Bookstores that sell both simplified and traditional Chinese books
1. Amazon
- Content: Amazon is the most convenient retailer with the option of Prime 2-day shipping. However, they have a limited selection of books, movies, & music. In addition, many of their bilingual Chinese/English books have inaccurate Chinese translations.
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
2. China Sprout
- Content: China Sprout is a US-based online Chinese store with large selection of books, movies, & music. Toys, stickers, clothing, & other cultural items are also available.
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
3. Chinese Books for Children
- Content: Chinese Books for Children is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with many books in simplified and traditional Chinese
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
4. Asian Parent
- Content: Asian Parent is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of books, often has free shipping & sales promotions.
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
5. Little Monkey and Mouse
- Content: US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of books & activity books.
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
6. Yes Asia
- Content: International online store for Asian entertainment products
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin, English, Japanese, Korean
- Website language: English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese
7. Chinese Holy Bible
- Content: Chinese Holy Bible is an online retailer with Chinese Christian books and bibles for children and adults. The downside is that their website seems to be frequently out-of-stock of many products.
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, English
- Website language: English, traditional Chinese
Online Chinese bookstores for simplified Chinese books and learning products
1. Taobao
- Content: TaoBao has a vast selection of books, movies, & music at low prices. Toys, stickers, clothing, & other cultural items available.
- Product language: mostly simplified Chinese, Pinyin, English; some traditional Chinese, Zhuyin
- Website language: Simplified Chinese
2. Timesbook
- Content: Timesbook is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with a vast selection of Chinese books for all ages
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, Pinyin
- Website language: Simplified Chinese
3. Odonata Publishing Sdn Bhd (红蜻蜓出版有限司公)
- Content: Odonata is a Malaysian-based online Chinese bookstore with a large collection of picture books, Chinese comics, textbooks and more for all ages
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, Pinyin
- Website language: English, Simplified Chinese
4. Read With Me Mommy
- Content: Read with Me Mommy is a Singaporean bookstore with simplified Chinese books for all ages
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, Pinyin
- Wesbsite language: English
5. Flip For Joy (乐翻天)
- Content: Flip For Joy is a Singaporean bookstore with simplified Chinese books for young children
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, Pinyin
- Wesbsite language: English
6. My Story Treasury
- Content: My Story Treasury is a Singaporean bookstore with simplified Chinese books for young children
- Product language: Simplified Chinese, Pinyin
- Wesbsite language: English
For parents who are based in Singapore and Malaysia, Popular Bookstore is a commonly recommended bookstore for Chinese books and other resources for kids.
Online Chinese bookstores for traditional Chinese books and learning products
1. Books.com.tw
- Content: Taiwan’s largest internet retailer. Vast selection of books, movies, & music. Toys, sticks, clothing, & other cultural items available.
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, Zhuyin, English
- Website language: Traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, English (Change language at top right corner of website by clicking on the world 🌎icon
- Content: Group buy for Chinese books arranged by a Taiwanese family on Facebook
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, Zhuyin
- Website language: Traditional Chinese
3. Gloria’s Bookstore
- Content: Gloria’s Bookstore is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of children’s books
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, Zhuyin
- Website language: Traditional Chinese, some English
4. Seeds Hong Kong
- Content: Hong Kong-based online retailer with books, toys, games; ships internationally
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, English
- Website language: Traditional Chinese
5. Stream of Praise
- Content: Chinese Christian music CDs, DVDs, books, clothing, and accessories
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, English
- Website language: English, Traditional Chinese
6. Ciaohu
- Content: 巧虎 is an educational Chinese children’s program. Monthly subscription to 巧虎 (Qiaohu, Ciaohu ) includes a DVD, workbook, & toy or game. Other 巧虎 toys, CDs, & books available on their website.
- Product language: Traditional Chinese, Zhuyin
- Website language: Traditional Chinese
Photo by Athena Lam on Unsplash
Where should you buy Chinese books online?
As previously mentioned, your bookstore preference will depend on whether your family reads simplified or traditional Chinese books. It also depends on your location.
From an international standpoint:
- Amazon is the most convenient with 2-day shipping but has limited book selection outside of China
- Simplified Chinese readers will find a large selection of simplified Chinese books on Taobao
- Traditional Chinese readers will find a large selection of traditional Chinese books on books.com.tw
For those in the US learning simplified Chinese:
- Taobao offers overseas delivery for inexpensive books, but shipping costs may be high regardless of whether you shop directly or through an agent.
- Timesbook is based in the US. This may be a good option for those who can navigate the Chinese website. Otherwise, you can try to email their customer service in English with your questions and book requests.
For those in the US learning traditional Chinese:
- Books.com.tw offers overseas delivery, but the costs of both books and shipping are high. Many families choose to have the books delivered locally to relatives in Taiwan and then later receive them during a family visit
- Gloria’s bookstore is convenient to shop from since some parts of her website are in English
- Mr. and Mrs. Books’ Facebook group is a popular option for those looking to catch group sales
Where do we buy Chinese books for our kids?
Since my family is based in the United States and we are primarily learning simplified Chinese, we use China Sprout and Taobao most often. China Sprout is very expensive with very high mark-up of most products. However, they often carry out-of-print books that we like, and we generally receive most products within a week. They are also responsive to email and can reply in English about product inquiries.
If I see a Chinese children’s book on Amazon with a reasonable price, I usually buy it. My reason is that demand motivates supply, and I want Amazon to see that a demand for Chinese books for kids and respond with affordable and accessible options!
However, Taobao is currently my preferred online retailer. Books from Taobao are closer to the retail price – a fraction of the markup at other bookstores. My personal opinion is that Taobao is the best option for families who read simplified Chinese due to large selection and low product costs, despite high overseas shipping costs. If you’d like to shop from Taobao directly, check out this detailed guide from Hands-On Chinese Fun. Since I cannot read the website (it’s entirely in Chinese), I have used an agent (42 Agent / TaobaoRing) which charges commission and other fees for their service. The pros and cons of using an agent are detailed here. In the future, I am planning on trying Timesbook.com and will update this post with my experience.
I have shopped occasionally at some of the other websites on this list, but I prefer to consolidate most of my shopping to the aforementioned stores for simplicity. However, if I really want a specific book, then I will look for that ISBN on the other sites to see if they carry it.
As for the few traditional Chinese books that we own, I ordered them from Gloria’s Bookstore. We also have traditional Chinese workbooks as part of our monthly Ciaohu subscription.
Do you have any other favorite online Chinese bookstores? Please share in the comments so that other parents can see the recommendations!
Recommended Reading
To see our favorite Chinese books, please bookmark this link which has all book-related posts!
If you need tips on how to teach your child Chinese, these posts are for you!
- Teach Your Child a Second Language at Home with 5 Key Steps
- When and How to Introduce Chinese Characters to Kids?
- Raising Multilingual Children as a Non-Fluent Parent
- 10 Ways to Get Your Child to Read Throughout the Day
- Create a Print-Rich Environment with Labels that Promote Literacy
- Fun & Educational Chinese Activities – A How-To Guide
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Happy Chinese learning, friends!
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