The Year of the Rabbit: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac

by Oliver Chin, Justin Roth (Illustrator)

This edition features a bilingual Chinese translation. 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit! Rosie is a funny bunny whose journey celebrates the new year.  Born with very long ears, Rosie also has great sense for adventure. She wants new sights to see and plants to taste. After getting caught "visiting" a nearby vegetable garden, Rosie befriends the boy Jai. As other animals learn that she is an unusual bunny, will Rosie ever find that her ears come in handy? Enjoy this hare-raising tale!
Illustrating expressive characters and vibrant action, artist Justin Roth creates an inviting new world for readers to explore.  Tales from the Chinese Zodiac  is a popular annual children’s book series showcasing the twelve charming animals that embody the Chinese New Year.
Rosie’s high hops to find her true talents will delight children and adults alike. Kids love identifying with how each animal embarks on a unique quest to discover his or her own Bright and dynamic illustrations will appeal to parents, those interested in Asian culture, and, of course, lovers of Bugs Bunny, the Easter Bunny, and Peter Rabbit. Teachers appreciate how  Tales from the Chinese Zodiac  is the only English series on each of the animals of the Chinese lunar calendar. Librarians like how it one of the longest-running children's book series featuring Asian American themes. Now readers everywhere can enjoy these entertaining and original tales.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Animals

36 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2010

About the author

Hi! I'm the author of twenty children's picture books, a graphic novel on 9-11, and a sports commentary on Yao Ming and the Tao.

I love creating stories that both kids and adults can get a kick out of (and enjoy countless times), and collaborating with amazing artists who bring these brave new worlds to life.

Themes range from trains, monsters (www.monsterisle.net), pirates, and inspirational martial arts heroine Julie Black Belt (www.julieblackbelt.com).

A rainbow of animals inhabit the popular annual series The Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. This is the only series in English that features each of the animals of the Lunar New Year. We've completed twelve unique adventures and are revising each new edition with a bilingual translation in simplified Chinese. Now we have a limited edition box set that collects the whole series.

Our new series The Asian Hall of Fame explores fantastic inventions from Asia. Each is the first English children's picture book on the subject. Dao is a cute red panda who brings the kids Emma and Ethan back in time... and then back to the future! Their first trip was The Discovery of Ramen. The sequel was the The Discovery of Fireworks and Gunpowder.

I'm also the publisher of Immedium (www.immedium.com) which is a San Francisco publisher of children's books and contemporary art and culture. Our titles include the original tales of The Octonauts (www.octonauts.com), which is now a hit animated TV series worldwide and airs on the Disney Channel in the USA and Netflix.

I graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991. My family lives in San Francisco, CA.

Reviews

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Centered around the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, this tale of the Rabbit is fun but starts off a little odd. At first it felt a little "over the top & cartoonish" but eventually settled into a story of friendship and loyaty.

[Sandybear76]

I was wanting a book about the Chinese New Year but I don't think these will be the one. The story was cute but not much about the why it was the year of the rabbit. It had faint story lines from Peter Rabbit, when Rosie was eating in a garden with her brothers and sisters. It had a tiger in the story and Rosie caught the tiger - another year in the chinese Zodiac - by the tail and saved her friend Jai.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off I love the illustrations. They are simple and colorful and fun. The story is a bit long but I still liked it. I learned a little more about the year of the Rabbit. I am interested in the Chinese Zodiac and New Year....in 2013 we are headed for the year of the Snake....We ordered all 12 of these... I hope people enjoy them!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever. With subtleties only an older reader (e.g. parent, teenager) could appreciate. I'm blessed to have two rabbits in my two immediate families (my husband, Tom and my brother, Bryan). Yes, Rosie, I too like beets better than carrots.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Year of the Rabbit is an interesting tale about Rosy and her adventures. The title of " The Year of the Rabbit" is a bit of a misnomer. It is mentioned at the beginning of the story that Rosy was born during the year of the rabbit and is supposed to be lucky, but usually isn't. Otherwise, the zodiac is not mentioned until the afterward. Rosy is pictured with unusually long ears. She is upset about peoples comments, but her mother advises her that eventually they will be of use. I thought at first that this was going to be a story about divergence and being differently abled. But the remark was merely forshadowing. The story wanders from a Peter Rabbit retelling to an eventual story of friendship where those long ears do help Rosy save the day. Children will enjoy the bright cartoon style illustrations. Adult readers will appreciate all the references and puns intended for older readers.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are bilingual books for kids, great for a beginner trying to learn either Mandarin or English. It's a shame they don't take more time to show how groups of words relate to characters so it's more of a learning tool. I'm making out more and more characters and I'm still so far from understanding.

Fun artwork with lots of energy.

Rabbit makes mischief and finds a farm to eat their food from. Rosie has extra long ears. She and the farm boy, Jai, become friends after some life experience.

The print is a bit small, especially the characters and it's difficult to see on some pages, but maybe I'm simply old.

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute!