The Chinese year 4712 begins on Jan. 31, 2014.
It’s the Year of the Horse which is PickyKidPix‘s year and also those born between:
February 03, 1954, to January 23, 1955
January 21, 1966, to February 08, 1967
February 07, 1978, to January 27, 1979
January 27, 1990, to February 14, 1991
February 12, 2002 to January 31, 2003
January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015.
The Year of the Horse Personality
Those born under the sign of the Horse are a flexible group of people. They tend to be stubborn when it comes their ideas, but they are also incredibly patient when it comes to hearing out what other people have to say. They favor straight forward, occasionally blunt conversation. And yet they generally avoid starting up any unnecessary trouble. This combination then makes those under the Horse sign a bit of a puzzle to the people around them. Though this certainly does not stop people from trying to figure them out. from Senn
Here’s more:
People born in the year of the horse have ingenious communicating techniques and in their community they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are popular among friends, active at work and refuse to be reconciled to failure, although their endeavor cannot last indefinitely.
They cannot bear too much constraint. However their interest may be only superficial and lacking real substance. They are usually impatient and hot blooded about everything other than their daily work. They are independent and rarely listen to advice. Failure may result in pessimism. They usually have strong endurance but with bad temper. Flamboyant by nature, they are wasteful since they are not good with matters of finance due to a lack of budgetary efficiency. Some of those who are born in the horse like to move in glamorous circles while pursuing high profile careers. They tend to interfere in many things and frequently fail to finish projects of their own. From Travel China Guide
Picture Book to Celebrate The Year of the Horse
For a picture book to celebrate The Year of the Horse, I chose …
The Magic Horse of Han Gan by Chen Jiang Hong
The illustrations capture gorgeous traditional Chinese paintings as well as the life of artist Han Gan who lived in China 1,200 years ago. He was reputed to be so skilled in painting horses that one of his paintings came to life! [picture book, ages 5 and up]
Han Gan Biography
Han Gan’s short biography:
Han Gan was a Tang Dynasty painter.
Here’s a longer one:
He came from a poor family in either Chang’an, modern-day Xi’an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern-day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern-day Kaifeng, Henan. As a young man, Han Gan was recognized by Wang Wei, a prominent poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts. Han became a student of Cao Ba, a court painter. After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court.
Han painted many portraits and Buddhist-themed paintings during his career; however, he is most widely remembered for his paintings of horses. He was reputed to be able to not only portray the physical body of the horse but also its spirit. His reputation rose and surpassed that of his teacher. Horse painters of later generations studied Han. He is honored with a crater named for him on Mercury. from Wikipedia
Han Gan Paintings
Portrait of “Night-Shining White”, a favorite steed of Emperor Xuanzong
Herding horse (silk painting, 34.1*27.5 cm, by Han Gan, Tang Dynasty)
Night Shining White by Han Gan
A Groom with Horse by Han Gan (scroll art)
Chinese New Year Crafts and Books for Kids
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children “lucky money” in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.
Top 10 Chinese New Year Books for Kids
If you need a children’s book on Chinese New Year, I have a dozen or so choices for you. These Chinese New Year picture books cover the celebration as well as crafts and activities for kids. There’s also a chapter book themed around the Chinese New Year by Grace Lin!
Red Envelope Crafts for Kids (and for our 2nd Grade China Unit)
The Red Envelopes have a lot of significance for Chinese New Year and other celebrations. I have Chinese paper money printables and the etiquette for using Red Envelopes. This craft activity was used to teach 2nd graders about China and includes the Chinese inventions including paper and paper money.
We use The Greatest Power by Demi to read about the inventions China contributed to the world.
Chinese New Year Crafts Party for Kids
My oldest daughter is studying Chinese in middle school and her teacher planned an elaborate Chinese New Year party with many craft ideas. The ideas were drawn from Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds.
Will you celebrate Chinese New Year this year? If so, I’d love to hear what you are doing. We will be making dumplings!
p.s. I have other book lists for Chinese New Year
Best Chinese American Books for Kids by Cool Asian Kids
Top 10: Best Southeast Asian American Children’s Books (ages 2-14)
Top 10: Chinese American Children’s Books (ages 2-14) UPDATED2
Top 10: Korean American Children’s Books (ages 2-16) UPDATED3
Top 10: Japanese American Children’s Books (ages 2-16)UPDATED2
Chinese New Year Chapter Books: Grace Lin’s Pacy Series
To examine any book more closely at Indiebound or Amazon, please click on image of book.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We’ll be checking out some of those Chinese New Year books – thanks for the recommendations!
Hi MaryAnne,
Happy Year of the Horse … coming up Jan 31st. I finally got to meet Giselle of Kids Yoga Stories yesterday and she is sooo nice! We were glad to have the connection of both knowing you and she told me how you went to the Stanford blogger meet up the day after arriving cross country! (and how calm you are!). Hope you enjoy the books!!
Han Gan is the perfect artist for the year of the horse. I liked that picture book, too.
Hi Erica,
His style is so different from some famous Western artists that focus on realism that it might be hard to see how his paintings make horses come alive… but I’m glad that the message is that Han Gan captures a horse’s personality and spirit rather than exact physical form. That’s an interesting perspective to see art from. Happy Year of the Horse! Do you have a horse person in your family? My middle daughter is year of the horse.
I love the look of Han Gan book! Will be adding this post to my round up of Chinese New Year ideas this Monday.
Hi Natalie,
The Han Gan book is so beautiful. I hope you like it too! Thanks so much for including me in your round up!
Great resource!! Thanks for sharing at After School!
Thanks so much Stephanie! And for hosting After School Linky!
Fabulous line up Mia. Thanks so much for bringing these Chinese New Year gems to our attention on the Kid Lit Blog Hop. He he, we can’t wait for you to join us next hop….
Thanks so much Julie! I am so thrilled to be a part of the Kid Lit Blog Hop!!
Thank for this great post! What a fantastic resource for home schooling and teachers who want to share with their students. Well done! And thanks for taking part in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Thanks so much Meg! I wish I had time to get my Chinese Tutor to write horse as a character to share that (but I just wasn’t organized enough this year). I’ll do that for next year though! Chinese New Year sneaks up on me every year!!
Han Gan’s illustrations are so beautiful – I am totally moved by them. You have really put together a fantastic post for Chinese New Year. I will be looking into the red envelope crafts (and etiquette). Thanks for sharing in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Thanks so much Renee,
Han Gan’s horses are so different from how Western Renaissance masters would portray a horse. I find the different perspectives so interesting. Glad you liked his art and the picture book. I am half Chinese and some of the Red Envelope etiquette was new to me so that was fun to learn from a Chinese American mom friend who did a presentation with me for 2nd graders last year for the China unit.
You’ve put a lot into your Chinese New Year resources! Thanks for sharing with After School.
Thanks so much Anna and congrats on your precious new baby girl!! She is gorgeous!