Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival with Books

A good friend texted me this morning to ask for recommendations of children stories on the Mid-Autumn Festival. We celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival (or more affectionately known as 中秋节 or Lantern Festival here) on the 15th day of eighth month in the Lunar Calendar. It’s the day where the moon is supposedly the roundest and shines the brightest. Apart from enjoy moon cakes and carrying lanterns, it is also traditionally the day when family reunites.

Books on Mid Autumn Festival - LTM Compiled lovingly by Life’s Tiny Miracles

I’ve found these titles from our National Libraries suitable for emerging readers (5 to 6 years old), perfect for bedtime reads leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival or as we gather round the table savouring moon-cakes, steamed baby yams and pomelos.

1. Lin Yi’s lantern : A Moon Festival Tale
Written by Brenda Williams; illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe.

LanternFestivalBooks06 Call Number: English WIL

Lin Yi is given money to buy items at the market for tonight’s Moon Festival. If he bargains well, he can purchase a red rabbit lantern for himself. But he must purchase everything on his mother’s list first! This heart-warming story will resonate with both children and adults, as they learn about the wonderful Chinese Moon Festival and the rewards that come from putting others first. Lin Yi faces a moral dilemma, and learns that doing the right thing for its own sake is the best course of action, and that luck may shine on those who act morally.

2. Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes

Written by Roseanne Thong; illustrated by Grace Lin.

Call Number: English THO

A little girl’s neighborhood becomes a discovery ground of things round, square and rectangular. Many of the objects are Asian in origin, other universal: round rice bowls and a found pebble, square dim sum and pizza boxes, rectangular Chinese lace and very special pencil case. Bright art accompanies this lively introduction to shapes and short glossary explains the cultural significance of the objects featured in the book. Perfect for read-alouds.

3. Chinese Festivals – Celebrating the Lantern Festival

Written by Sanmu Tang.

Call Number: English 394.261 TAN

In these charming book, Little Mei asks her grandfather about each of the four different celebrations represented. He tells her the stories of Nian and the monster Xi (Chinese New Year); Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who loved his kingdom (Dragon Boat Festival); the Jade Emperor of Heaven who ordered the earth to be destroyed by fire (Lantern Festival); and Hou Yi who shot down the suns (Mid-Autumn Festival).

4. Thanking the Moon : Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Written by Grace Lin.

Call Number: English LIN

This simple, young, and satisfying story follows a Chinese American family as they celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Each member of the family lends a hand as they prepare a moonlit picnic with mooncakes, pomelos, cups of tea, and colorful lanterns. And everyone sends thanks and a secret wish up to the moon.

5. Moon Beams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales
Written by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz & The Children’s Museum, Boston.

Call Number: English 394.26 SIM

Filled with delectable recipes, hands-on family activities, and traditional tales to read aloud, this extraordinary collection will inspire families everywhere to re-create the magic of Chinese holidays in their own homes. They can feast on golden New Year’s dumplings and tasty moon cakes, build a miniature boat for the Dragon Boat Festival and a kite at Qing Ming, or share the story of the greedy Kitchen God or the valiant warrior Hou Yi. This stunning compilation from bestselling cookbook author Nina Simonds and Leslie Swartz of the Children’s Museum, Boston, is the perfect gift for families that have embraced Chinese holidays for generations–and for those just beginning new traditions.

6. The Most Beautiful Lantern

Written by Sally Heinrich.

Call Number: English HEI

The Mid-Autumn Festival is Mei-Ling’s favourite celebration. Meil Ling makes her way through an amazing array of lanterns, in her search for the most beautiful of them all. She is looking forward to taking part in a lantern parade with all her friends. But what type of lantern will she choose?

7. The Moon Lady
Written by Amy Tan; illustrated by Gretchen Schields.

Call Number: English TAN

A Magical night when secret wishes can come true. On a rainy afternoon, three sisters wish for the rain to stop, wish they could play in the puddles, wish for something to do. So Ying-ying, their grandmother, tells them a tale from long ago. On the night of the Moon Festival, Ying-ying encountered the Moon Lady, who grants the secret wishes of those who ask, and learned from her that the best wishes are those you can make come true yourself.

8. Georgette’s Mooncakes
Written by Adeline Foo; illustrated by Lee Kowling.

Call Number: English FOO

Two little girls found themselves caught up in the middle of an uprising in ancient China, as the Chinese revolted against their Mongol rulers. Against a backdrop of mystical Chinese lanterns and monstrous Japanese kites, this story traces the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival, weaving in the magic of mooncakes painted by one of Singapore’s pioneer artists, Georgette Chen. The story of Puteh, the little nonya, carries on in Georgette’s Mooncakes. Inspired by the idea of ‘magical realism’, this story is one where children can be transported into a different world, through suspended belief. This is the first book in a new series featuring the inspiring works of Singapore’s pioneer artists, using art as a backdrop and the paintbrush as a magical tool. Georgette’s Mooncakes is available in English and Chinese.

9. Paper Lanterns

Written by Stefan Czernecki.

Call Number: English CZE

Old Chen is a gifted lantern maker but without a suitable apprentice, Old Chen fears his legacy will end.With the lantern festival close at hand, Old Chan, the master paper lantern maker, must find an apprentice with the talent to continue his work.
Have fun reading and here’s wishing all of us a heartwarming Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 with our families!

10. Legends of Ten Chinese Traditional Festivals

Edited by Li Shufen and He Wei; Illustrated by Zhan Tong.

Call Number: English 394.26 ZHA

An illustrated story book about ten traditional Chinese holidays including Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Through vivid stories and illustrations, readers can get a glimpse of Chinese folk customs.

Have fun with the books and a blessed reunion with your families!

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