Happy New Year Books for Kids 2025 | Spark Joy & Traditions

2013 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominee

Squirrel knows that New Year's Day is a great day for making resolutions! But what does it mean to make a resolution, anyway? As she makes visits around the forest she learns about New Year's resolutions and helps her friends get started on theirs. If only she can think of a resolution of her very own.

Pip is a sky-blue duckling. Flip is an orange frogling. They don’t look like the others—and that’s what makes them special.

Pip & Flip is a gentle, cozy picture-book series that follows two unlikely friends as they splash, hop, and giggle their way through big feelings and small everyday moments. In each story, Pip and Flip show little readers that being different is not something to hide—it’s something to celebrate.

In Pip & Flip Celebrate the New Year, the friends discover a magical winter night by the pond. As snow falls and the water turns to ice, they decide to throw a New Year’s party for all the animals: glowing ice lanterns, colorful ribbons, fireflies drawing hearts in the sky, and a joyful countdown where everyone’s wishes matter. A shy grey duck worries that it’s “too plain” to join—but Pip and Flip gently show that every color and every friend makes the celebration brighter.

Throughout the series, children are invited to:

• Explore animals and habitats – Ducks, frogs, turtles, fish, birds and more, all living around a calm European-style pond.

• Understand seasons and weather – Snow, ice, sunshine, rain, changing skies and how nature looks and feels in each season.

• Learn about New Year and time – What “New Year’s Eve” means, simple ideas of before/after, night/day, and counting down together.

• Practice colors and shades – Sky-blue, orange, grey, and many other hues in ribbons, lanterns, fireflies and pond reflections, reinforcing color words in a natural way.

• Count and notice numbers – Stars in the sky, steps on the ice, lanterns by the shore, and the “three, two, one” New Year’s countdown.

• Play with sounds and onomatopoeia – “Splash!”, “hop”, “tick-tick-tick”, “ribbit”, gentle night sounds and party sounds that invite children to repeat and join in.

• Spot shapes and patterns – Round lanterns, starry skies, heart shapes in the fireflies’ glow, wavy reeds, and simple visual patterns around the pond.

• Grow vocabulary and language – Repeated phrases, simple dialogue, and warm descriptive words help toddlers and preschoolers build their everyday vocabulary.

• Build friendship and empathy skills – Sharing, inviting others in, noticing when someone feels left out, and finding kind ways to say “You belong with us.”

• Strengthen self-acceptance – Pip and Flip look different from everyone else, but they learn (and model) that being yourself is the most beautiful thing of all.

Designed for toddlers and preschoolers, Pip & Flip stories are:

• Short and soothing enough for bedtime,

• Engaging and interactive enough for storytime and circle time,

• Rich in visual details and repetition, perfect for early learning, pointing and naming.

With the recurring motto “Different colors, same splash!”, the series gently teaches that:

• Every child is unique.

• Every feeling matters.

• Every voice belongs in the circle.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming, educational series that blends animals, seasons, colors, numbers, sounds, shapes, words, time, friendship, and New Year traditions into one cozy world by the pond, Pip & Flip is the perfect place to start.

Shanté Keys loves New Year's Day! But while Grandma fixed chitlins, baked ham, greens, and cornbread, she forgot the black-eyed peas! Oh no―it'll be bad luck without them! So Shanté sets out to borrow some from the neighbors.

Celebrate the magic of New Year’s traditions from every corner of the globe! Happy New Year Around the World! is a colorful, rhyming picture book that introduces little readers (ages 2–5) to the exciting ways different cultures welcome the New Year.

From fireworks in the USA to dragon dances in China, flower offerings in Brazil, and grape wishes in Spain—this joyful journey shows that while we all celebrate differently, the spirit of hope and happiness is the same everywhere!

Perfect for bedtime reading or classroom fun, this book sparks curiosity, teaches cultural appreciation, and encourages kids to say “Happy New Year!” in their own special way.

Engaging Rhymes: Simple, fun verses perfect for read-aloud.
Bright Illustrations: Colorful scenes of global celebrations.
Educational & Fun: Introduces traditions from 12 countries.
Interactive Prompts: Encourage kids to count, roar, and dance!

• Parents and teachers looking for multicultural books
• Holiday gifts for toddlers and preschoolers
• Storytime during New Year celebrations

Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Award
2021 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Gold Medal Winner
2021 Readers' Favorite Illustration Award Winner
2021 International Book Awards Winner
2020 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Winner
2020 National Indie Excellence Awards Winner
2020 Foreword Indies Book Of The Year Awards Finalist

"A warm hug of a picture book wishing all children happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives. (Our verdict: GET IT)" — Kirkus Reviews

This timeless, award-winning classic is a beautifully uplifting picture book that inspires children to live with hope, courage, and kindness. Filled with gentle wishes and heartfelt wisdom, it reminds readers of all ages that true happiness grows from love, gratitude, and believing in yourself.

The whimsical illustrations, by an award-winning artist, celebrate diversity and inclusion, encouraging children to embrace a kinder, more compassionate world.

A perfect gift for baby showers, new babies, graduations, birthdays, Christmas, baptisms, and adoptions, or simply to say “I love you.”

Join thousands of teachers, grandparents, and parents—and see why the Unconditional Love Series, with thousands of 5-star Amazon ratings, is loved and recommended around the world.