Where to Look for Chinese / Cantonese Books
Updated: Dec 5, 2021
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We have a lot of international parents in our Cantonese Mommy community, and I'm excited to share with you a list of where to get Chinese children's books from countries all over the world. Of course, I would also encourage you to visit your local library as well!
From US:
Glorias Bookstore I like the large selection of books Gloria's Bookstore offers. There's a Cantonese section on the website, offering books published from Hong Kong. I purchased a lot from Gloria's, especially the pre-order deals! Customer service is great. $5 off referral discount to you
Yobaby The book selection at Yo! Baby shop is not a lot, but you can find some good deals for large book sets. Apart from books, they also offer a lot of other quality products.
China Sprout There are more Simplified books than Traditional books here. But I was able to buy a "hard to find" Traditional version of Elephant and Piggie books here!
Yes Asia It's a Hong Kong website with US regional site. The books are mostly Traditional Chinese, shipping directly from Hong Kong. If you are looking for Hong Kong version comic books and DVDs, this is a good site to buy from.
CiaoHu 巧虎 We can now buy both Hong Kong and Taiwan versions of Ciao Hu magazines from this website.
Amazon I've listed some books that I read on my YouTube Channel or books that I like in my Cantonese Mommy's Amazon shop.
Be Joyful Mart Children Bookstore It's a small business based in US, owned by a Mom originally from Hong Kong. Selling mostly books from Hong Kong, delivery by DHL/Fedex. Group buy is happening all the time, check it out from time to time to get great offer !
From Canada:
Little Kozzi started the business soon after I launched Cantonese Mommy. We talked about how we can buy Chinese books from aboard in the very beginning. I’m very happy that their business is doing well and helping many Canadian Cantonese learning families to buy more books!
From Hong Kong:
Seeds.com.hk The service is great. The shop is in a commercial building in Central. They can arrange free local delivery for purchases over HK$599.
城邦書店 is a Taiwanese book store in Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Map: https://g.co/kgs/JMhFqt) There are many traditional Chinese children's books, and they allow shoppers to browse the inside of the books. As most bookstores in Hong Kong wrap their books in plastic, I was very happy with this store and highly recommend them. Fun tip: become a member to receive 20% off! No international shipping.
HKTVmall I have only purchased groceries from HKTVmall while I was in Hong Kong. Now you can buy children book and textbooks. No international shipping.
From Taiwan :
博客來 I ordered mostly new published books from books.com.tw Some people might think the shipping is expensive, please keep in mind that it’s cheaper than flying to Taiwan to buy the books. When I visit Hong Kong, I order from books.com.tw and ship to Hong Kong. I’ve compared the price, it’s still cheaper than buying from book stores in Hong Kong, also it will save your time browsing at bookstores, sometimes bookstores in Hong Kong might not have the books you want.
From Macau:
From China (mostly Simplified Chinese books):
Taobao.com It's hard to navigate if you can't read simplified Chinese. Try to shop on or before 11/11 , 12/12 to get good deals. Accepts US credit cards.
JD.com I personally think JD has better UI, easier for non-native Chinese speakers to shop, and accepts US credit cards. Try to shop on or before 11/11, 12/12 and 6/18 for deals and free shipping !
From UK:
Lantern Books A new online bookstore in UK, sells mostly simplified books, but they are happy to order Traditional books for you.
From Europe:
荷童書店 A online bookstore in Netherland.
From Australia:
1. 嗷嗷中文童書專賣 – (Sydney based) They also have a Facebook group 嗷嗷中文童書專賣
2. 小海馬書店 Little Seahorse Bookstore Melbourne Based group buy
3. 哈台舘國際書店 Tplaza
4. Abbey’s Language Bookstore– Has a mixture Simplified or Traditional Chinese books. And lots of Learning textbooks and resources
5. Books Kinokuniya– Has a mixture Simplified or Traditional Chinese books.
6. Mini Multilinguals - New online book store based in Melbourne. You get 5% off if you complete this survey about what kind of books you are looking for! Some information listed above were provided by Cantonese for Families
From Facebook Group:
Used Chinese Books by Motherly Notes 中文 ，新，二手書 買賣區
Happy to share that apart from my own experience, I followed some very resourceful blogs that led me to these resources:
If you know any new bookstores or website, please feel free to let us know by email: hello@cantonesemommy.com We will update this post. Thank you!
Happy shopping!