New Year's Books for Kids

A new year feels like a fresh start. It’s the perfect time to look back on the past year and make new goals and resolutions for the year ahead. One way to get students excited about the new year is through books. Here are a handful of New Year’s books for kids that show how people around the world ring in the new year!

You can click on any of the titles below to learn more about each book or find all of these New Year’s books on my Amazon page.

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New Year’s Books for Kids

Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution

by Pat Miller

Squirrel knows that New Year’s Day is a great day for making resolutions! But what does it mean to make a resolution, anyway? As she makes visits around the forest she learns about New Year’s resolutions and helps her friends get started on theirs. If only she can think of a resolution of her very own…

You can find resources to use with this story here.

Shanté Keys and the New Year’s Peas

by Gail Piernas-Davenport

Shanté Keys loves New Year’s Day! But while Grandma fixed chitlins, baked ham, greens, and cornbread, she forgot the black-eyed peas! Oh no–it’ll be bad luck without them! So Shanté sets out to borrow some from the neighbors.

The Lucky Grapes

by Tracey Kyle

It’s New Year’s Eve in Spain, and Rafa is excited to stay up for the first time ever to celebrate with his familia at the plaza. There’ll be fireworks and música and . . . grapes? Rafa finds out that he needs to eat a small grape with each of the twelve midnight chimes to bring luck in the New Year. Can he do it? Will he even make it to midnight?

The Night Before New Year’s

by Natasha Wing

It’s the night before New Year’s, and the whole family is determined to stay up until midnight! Everyone’s stocked up on sparkly streamers and festive party hats, but after a night filled with card games and too many cupcakes, the little ones are getting sleepy. . . Can they make it until the clock strikes twelve?

Bringing in the New Year

by Grace Lin

This story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the Lunar New Year.

Freedom Soup

by Tami Charles

Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from.

Happy New Year! (Strawberry Shortcake)

by Amy Ackelsberg

Ring in the New Year with Strawberry Shortcake and all her friends in this New Year’s Eve-themed book.

Happy New Year, Spot!

by Eric Hill

Spot isn’t old enough to stay up until midnight, but he finds a way to celebrate the New Year early with his family. Bring your party hats and noisemakers as you join Spot in celebrating the new year!

New Year’s Eve Thieves (Calendar Mysteries)

by Ron Roy

Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy are looking forward to a New Year’s Eve party. But someone is leaving clues that there might be more to this celebration than confetti and noisemakers.

The New Year’s Eve Sleepover from the Black Lagoon

by Mike Thaler

Eric is having a New Year’s Eve sleepover, but Hubie has never spent the night away from home. He’s going to be in a strange bed, in a strange room, in a strange house. What if Hubie gets sick or has a bad dream? What happens if Eric starts telling his cheesy jokes? And what’s all this talk about making a New Year’s resolution?

You can find a book companion to pair with this book here.

The New Year Dragon Dilemma (A to Z Mysteries Super Edition)

by Ron Roy

Fireworks and dragons and . . . a missing girl? Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are in San Francisco, home of the biggest Chinatown outside Asia. They plan to watch the famous Chinese New Year parade and see Miss Chinatown ride by in a giant float. But during the parade, Miss Chinatown disappears, and so does her crown! Can the kids crack the case?

Happy New Year (Celebrations)

by Clara Coleman

This book looks at New Year’s celebrations in different cultures around the world, including New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year, Dimali in India, and Songkran in Thailand.

New Year’s Day (Celebrations in My World)

by Lynn Peppas

Discusses the history, customs, and celebrations of New Year’s Day.

Happy New Year, Everywhere

by Arlene Erlbach

Celebrations from twenty countries are presented in this informative and colorful tale for young readers to demonstrate the diverse ways people kick-off the New Year around the world.

Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World

by Marilyn Singer

In many places around the globe, the new year starts on January 1. But not everywhere! Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February. Iranians observe Nowruz in March. For Thai people, Songkran occurs in April. Ethiopians greet the new year at Enkutatash in September. All these diverse cultural, regional, and religious observances, and many others, have deep-rooted traditions and treasured customs.

Happy New Year Around the World (coloring book)

Discover the holiday customs of nations around the world with this coloring book. Celebrations range from spectacular parades in China and candles in the sand on Brazilian beaches to fireworks over Sydney Harbor and the countdown in New York’s Times Square.