Since my family lives in a small town in California (United States), we have no local Chinese bookstores, and our local library has only a handful of Chinese books. Therefore, I rely on online Chinese bookstores to find quality Chinese children’s books for our home library to create a language learning environment. Finding Chinese books has been extra challenging due to my lack of fluency in Chinese, but I now have a go-to list of online retailers that I regularly shop from or have been recommended by other parents in a helpful bilingual parenting Facebook group. Many of these stores carry the following items:
- Books (picture books, bridge books, fiction, nonfiction) in simplified and traditional Chinese
- DVDs
- Audio CDs
- Games/toys
- Cultural clothing and decor
Online Chinese Bookstores
Note: SC = Simplified Chinese; TC = Traditional Chinese
1. Amazon.com
- 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: SC, TC, pinyin, zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
2. Chinasprout.com
- 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: SC, TC, pinyin, zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
3. Asianparent.com
- Content: Asian Parent is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of books, often has free shipping & sales promotions.
- Product language: SC, TC, pinyin, zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
4. Glorias-bookstore.com
- Content: Gloria’s Bookstore is a US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of children’s books and video reviews
- Product language: TC, zhuyin
- Website language: Chinese
5. Littlemonkeyandmouse.com
- Content: US-based online Chinese bookstore with large selection of books & activity books.
- Product language: SC, TC, pinyin, zhuyin, English
- Website language: English
6. World.taobao.com
- Content: Tao Bao has a vast selection of books, movies, & music at low prices. Toys, stickers, clothing, & other cultural items available.
- Product language: mostly SC, pinyin, English; some TC, zhuyin
- Website language: Chinese
7. Books.com.tw
- Content: Taiwan’s largest internet retailer. Vast selection of books, movies, & music. Toys, sticks, clothing, & other cultural items available.
- Product language: TC, zhuyin, English
- Website language: Chinese
8. Yesasia.com
- Content: International online store for Asian entertainment products
- Product language: SC, TC, pinyin, zhuyin, English
- Website language: English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese
9. Streams of Praise
- Content: Chinese Christian music CDs, DVDs, books, clothing, and accessories
- Product language: TC, English
- Website language: English, Chinese
10. Chineseholybible.com
- 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: SC, TC, English
- Website language: English, Chinese
11. Ciaohu.com
- Content: 巧虎 is an educational Chinese children’s program. Monthly subscription to 巧虎 (Qiao Hu) includes a DVD, workbook, & toy or game. Other 巧虎 toys, CDs, & books available on their website.
- Product language: TC, zhuyin
- Website language: Chinese
- Content: Group buy for Chinese books arranged by a Taiwanese family on Facebook
- Product language: TC, zhuyin
- Website language: Chinese
13. Seeds.com.hk
- Content: Hong Kong-based online retailer with books, toys, games; ships internationally
- Product language: SC, TC, zhuyin, English
- Website language: Chinese
Since many of my bilingual parenting friends are based in Singapore and Malaysia, I would like to share recommended online bookstores for those who live in those countries. The following online stores offer simplified Chinese books for children:
- Flip For Joy (乐翻天)
- Popular Bookstore
- Odonata Publishing Sdn Bhd (红蜻蜓出版有限司公)
- Pelangi Books
Where do we buy Chinese books for our kids?
My family shops most often from China Sprout and Tao Bao. China Sprout is very expensive with high mark-up of their 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.
Recently, I started using Tao Bao because their books are closer to the retail price – a fraction of the markup at other bookstores. Since I cannot read the website (it’s entirely in Chinese), I use a reputable agent, taobaoring.com, which charges an 8% fee for their service. I think Tao Bao is the option for families all over the world due to overall low product costs, regardless of shipping costs. If you’d like to shop from Tao Bao directly, check out the guides on howtotao.com and handsonchinesefun.com.
Do you have any other favorite online stores for Chinese book and cultural shopping? Please let me know so we can share with other parents!
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
- Raising Multilingual Children as a Non-Fluent Parent
- 10 Ways to Get Your Child to Read Throughout the Day
- Fun & Educational Chinese Activities – A How-To Guide
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