Mulan’s Lunar New Year, by Natasha Yim, with illustrations by Sophie Li, is a wonderful mix of a Disney favorite and the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It’s so important for kids to learn about other cultures, and honestly as an adult I’ve never really learned anything about the Lunar New Year until recently.
During our 2019 Disney Christmas trip we watched the dragon dance at Epcot’s China pavilion, and it was exciting to watch and hear about how the culture celebrates the season. My sister has always been very good at teaching her kids of the different Christmas traditions and holiday celebrations around the world, and a couple years ago her class was assigned to be the create a Chinese New Year celebration for the school assembly. The kids loved it and had a blast! I can only imagine the better students we’re creating when we teach them of different cultures.
I would love to see more Disney books like this, that feature a special aspect of the princess’ or character’s culture. Disney has such a presence already that if they create more of these types of books, they’ll entice young readers with the characters they love, while teaching them a valuable lesson at the same time.
Let’s Discuss: What are your favorite kid books that hi-light different cultures?
Abigail Elizabeth Black 