Best Bilingual Chinese-English Books for Kids | 10 Picks
10 Bilingual Chinese-English Books Every Family Bookshelf Needs
Bilingual Chinese-English books are one of the easiest wins if you're building a home library for a Mandarin-learning (or heritage-speaking) kid: you get two books in one, Simplified Chinese and English side by side, so the whole family can read together no matter who's more comfortable in which language. This week's Summer Chinese Reading Challenge square rounds up our favorite bilingual picks, from board books for babies to picture books for early readers.
Duck Duck Books: All Puppies Are Good Puppies & I Love You More
Ages: 0+ Format: Bilingual with inline pinyin Price: $14 each
Duck Duck Books covers a lot of ground in two small board books: diversity and inclusion in All Puppies Are Good Puppies (所有的狗狗都是好狗狗), and a poetic ode to parental love in I Love You More (我最爱的就是你).
Shop All Puppies Are Good Puppies →
Bizzy Bear Series (小熊很忙)
Ages: 0+ Format: Interactive board books, bilingual with a printable pinyin guide Price: $14 each
Short, interactive board books that introduce your child to Bizzy Bear's many jobs and adventures — we especially love Fire Rescue (小小消防员), Chinese New Year (欢喜过新年), and Farmyard Fun (欢乐农场日).
Shop Bizzy Bear Chinese New Year →
Shop Bizzy Bear Farmyard Fun →
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Ages: 2+ Format: Bilingual hardcover with optional pinyin guide Price: $16
The Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle classic, in a bilingual hardcover edition with simple, repetitive language in both Chinese and English — an easy, familiar starting point if you're just building your Chinese book collection.
Shop Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (bilingual edition) →
Lychee Press by Katrina Liu: Let's Go on a Hike!, Mina's Ups & Downs, and The Gratitude Jar
Ages: 2+ Format: Bilingual with inline pinyin Price: $18 each
Katrina Liu's books cover a wide range of topics — nature and family adventure in Let's Go on a Hike! (我们去远足吧！), navigating big feelings in Mina's Ups & Downs (米娜的心情笔记), and building a gratitude habit in The Gratitude Jar (感恩罐).
Mindful Peach: The Big Slide, When Mom Goes Out, and I Want a Popsicle!
Written by: Anna Huang, PhD (an Asian American psychologist) Ages: 2+ Format: Bilingual with inline pinyin Price: $17 each, or $51 for all three
Approachable stories that help explain big emotions — fear, separation anxiety, and anger — to your toddler, written by a psychologist so the coping language actually holds up.
Shop the Mindful Peach 3-book bundle →
FAQ: Bilingual Chinese-English books for kids
What does "bilingual" mean for these books? Every book on this list presents Simplified Chinese and English text side by side on the same page, so you get two books in one. Most also include inline pinyin (or a separate printable pinyin guide) so parents who are still learning can read the Chinese text with confidence.
Do I need to be able to read Mandarin to read these to my child? No. Books with inline pinyin are designed for parents who might not have native fluency in reading Chinese. However, you should be familiar with reading pinyin and pronunciation in order to read the books with ease.
What's a good place to start a bilingual Chinese home library? Board books like the Bizzy Bear series or Duck Duck Books are a low-pressure starting point for babies and young toddlers, while picture books like the Lychee Press and Mindful Peach titles work well once your child is ready for a fuller story, around age 2 and up.
This post is part of our Summer Chinese Reading Challenge. Grab the full bingo board and submit your reads for a chance at 10% off or our $25 gift card raffle.