Reading Chinese books is one of the most effective ways to promote your child’s Chinese language development. Through exposure to Chinese characters and sentence structures, children’s books help build vocabulary, increase comprehension, and develop critical thinking skills. Reading also helps children learn proper grammar and pronunciation.
Chinese Bookstore Online Retailers
Below are the online retailers that offer a wide variety of Chinese books and Chinese learning materials. With these options, there’s no need to travel abroad or trouble relatives with the task of purchasing books for us. Say goodbye to the hassle of hauling heavy boxes back from overseas, as these small businesses ship Chinese children’s books right to our doorstep.
JoJo Learning
Along with the Luka Reading Robot, Jojo Learning also offers a vast selection of picture books in Simplified Chinese from around the globe, providing young readers with access to an array of culturally diverse stories and perspectives. Jojo Learning is the authorized seller of the renowned Luka Reading Robot and stocks a wide variety of children’s books that are compatible with this popular educational device.
Language: Mandarin, Simplified Chinese
Shipping: Global Shipping
Browse the JoJo Learning Website
Yo Baby Shop
Since 2017, two moms from Taiwan have been sourcing hard-to-get books and kids’ items from Taiwan and Asia. They have since expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in the City of Industry, California, where they host storytime and other events to support Chinese-speaking families.
Language: Mandarin, Traditional Chinese
Shipping: United States, Canada, and Mexico
Browse Yo Baby Shop
Gloria’s Bookstore
As one of the largest online retailers specializing in Chinese children’s books in the United States, Gloria’s Bookstore boasts an extensive collection of thousands of book titles. Based in Santa Clara, California, they also organize periodic warehouse sales at their location, providing customers with exciting opportunities to explore and purchase books at discounted prices.
Language: Mandarin, Traditional Chinese
Shipping: United States and Canada
Local Pickup: Santa Clara, California
Get $5 off at Gloria’s Bookstore
Mr. and Mrs. Books
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Mr. and Mrs. Books is operated by a husband and wife team and their 3 children. They curate only the most popular books from Taiwan to help parents build their children’s Traditional Chinese home libraries.
Language: Mandarin, Traditional Chinese
Shipping: Continental United States
Browse Mr. and Mrs. Books
Chinese Book Subscriptions
A book subscription for kids brings numerous benefits, including exposure to a wide variety of books, regular access to new and curated selections, convenience, time-saving for parents, encouragement of reading habits, and support for literacy and language skills. By providing a constant stream of engaging books, subscriptions enhance children’s literary horizons, vocabulary, comprehension, and overall development while instilling a lifelong appreciation for the joy and value of reading.
Curio Books
Award-winning foreign language books and learning materials for children ages 0-10. Currently available in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
Languages: Mandarin, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish
Shipping: United States
Get 10% off Curio Books with code mbmandarin
Book Box Chinese by Mrs. Books
Books Box Chinese is a quarterly book subscription. Each box includes 6 books plus surprise activities and freebies.
Language: Mandarin, Traditional Chinese
Shipping: Continental United States
Learn more about the Book Box Chinese subscription
Duck Duck Book Club
Experience the joy of receiving a brand-new book delivered straight to your doorstep every three months! Duck Duck Books specializes in publishing and curating books that promote social-emotional learning, providing valuable resources to parents in their endeavor to raise kind-hearted individuals. By joining, you can save between 10-40% off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Languages: Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese), Spanish, English
Shipping: Continental United States
Where to Buy Used Chinese Books
Motherly Notes Used Chinese Books
Join the Motherly Notes Used Chinese Books Facebook Group and score some deals on pre-loved Chinese books. Establishing a home library is a significant investment and buying used books can help you save a lot of money. Children outgrow books quickly and you can resell your books to offset the cost to purchase new books.
Buy Nothing Group
If you live in a community with a large Asian population, join your local Buy Nothing Community. My group has been my greatest resource for saving money and reducing clutter. Buy nothing helps to reduce waste and is a huge driver of sustainability. I have gifted and received Chinese books from other parents, as well as other useful items.
Public Library Book Sales
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and our public libraries regularly have book sales. I have found many books starting as low as $0.25. The best deal I found was a set of Little Newton magazines with the DVD for only $0.50 each magazine. Check your local brand for sales!
Chinese Books Reviews and Related Articles
Growing Activities and Vocabulary - My son’s teacher mentioned that he spends most of recess digging in the dirt and pretending to grow things. It’s July and the weather is FINALLY warming up where we live. We have been working on growing activities and vocabulary in Chinese. What a great opportunity to make learning fun by incorporating a child’s interests. We recently had a playdate at the park on the same day the city was building a community garden. He forgot all about his playdate… Continue Reading
Done with Sagebooks 1.1 - My first Sagebooks blog post was exactly 1 month ago! I am happy to share that we are FINALLY done with Sagebooks 1.1. This is the first book of 25 books and we have a long way to go. 臭雞蛋’s Progress My 2 year old daughter is our little bookworm. Her brain has an amazing ability to retain everything. Another mom taught us 瓢蟲 (ladybug) when we saw one at the park a few weeks ago. She still remembers even… Continue Reading
Favorite Books June 2019 - Top Shelf The Itch Book This book was illustrated by grandpa Joe. The Itch Book is no longer in print but you can find a used copy on Amazon. Middle Shelf The Ultimate Book of Vehicles This is an interactive book for serious vehicle lovers. It has been a favorite of my son’s for 3 years now! Find this on Amazon 好臟的哈利 (Harry the Dirty Dog) by Gene Zion This is an classic from 1959 that my daughter and I… Continue Reading
Mollie Used Books - Mollie Used Books NTU store has the largest selection of used books for children. The staff can check their inventory for any books and are very helpful. Keep in mind the books are pre-owned, so what they carry is based on what people have sold to them. I bought several books for 40 NT ($1.27 USD)! You really have to search for the deals though so allow yourself at least an hour to peruse. Photo below of the children’s section… Continue Reading
Free Chinese Workbooks From OCAC Taipei - The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) in Taipei offers free Chinese learning workbooks to overseas Taiwanese. Each non-Taiwanese passport presented allows you to select 10 books. Remember to bring a passport for each child you are getting books for. Also bring a separate ID for yourself as you will need to leave it at the security desk. ***You will have to make an appointment in advance*** The Overseas Community Affairs Council is located at 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District,… Continue Reading
Get Free Chinese Books This Summer - Summer has begun and so has the summer reading program at the public library. Almost all (95%) of the public libraries in the U.S. participate in this program. To encourage children to read through the summer, they offer free books and a contest to win prizes. Our local library even has a great selection of free Chinese books in both Traditional and Simplified. Stop by your local library to see what books are available. Some libraries may have more information… Continue Reading
Superheroes in Chinese - We are learning about Marvel’s superheroes in Chinese because my son’s classmates are really interested in this topic. They bring their action figures to school, pretend play, and discuss movies and cartoons they’ve watched. Lately my son has been talking about “Octopus Prime” and “Bumble Bee Ninja”. He means Optimus prime! Ha Ha Ha! We don’t have a television and limit screen time so he’s never seen the movies or cartoons and has no idea who these superheroes are. He… Continue Reading
Stroke Order Exercise Book - While I was in Taiwan this spring, I purchased a Chinese stroke order exercise book. We probably won’t use it for a couple years but it reminded me of the wood tracing boards that are so popular right now. When we returned home to California, I put the book in a box with some other items to be organized, then completely forgot about it. This morning I got to sleep in until 8:30. Woohoo! My kids spent the time coloring… Continue Reading
Father’s Day Books - We are reading a few silly and heartwarming stories to celebrate dad. Here are our selections for Father’s Day books this year. We borrowed a two of these books from our local library! The public library is such a valuable resource. Borrowing books saves money and trees! It also helps to reduce clutter in your home. Borrowing books allows you to preview them before buying so you can build a library of books your kids want to read again and… Continue Reading
Sagebooks Intro: Sagebooks are Magic! - I did it. I finally gave in and purchased Sagebooks. With the high price tag it took a lot of consideration. How can Sagebooks charge so much for these books?! The answer is: Sagebooks are magic, sorcery even! Why are these books magic? Because they got my uninterested 4 year old interested in learning Chinese again! Our Chinese Learning Background Ours is a familiar story. I’m a second generation Taiwanese now learning Chinese along with my newly 5 year old son… Continue Reading