Three Little Pigs and Their Malt Sugar Candies — Li Jian

In America, every child knows the story of the three little pigs and the big, bad wolf, so they'll love reading about the pigs' Chinese counterparts.

Told in a bilingual Chinese and English edition, this is the story of three little pigs whose appetites initially get the better of them. In a shared dream, they met an old man who tells them to deliver sweet rice cakes to him a week before New Year's Eve. The next morning, they see some sweet rice cakes on their kitchen table. The three little pigs completely forget the old man and eat every bit of them. When their mother comes home, she is very angry to discover all the cakes gone. Seeing their mother unhappy, the three little pigs help her make more delicious sweet rice cakes.

When there is only a week left before Chinese New Year's Eve, their mother lays the sweet rice cakes in front of the portrait of the Kitchen God and prays for the peace for the family. On seeing the portrait, the three little pigs realize that the old man in their dreams is actually the Kitchen God!

Other books in the Chinese Zodiac Series (as well as the year of that animal) include:

• Magical Rooster -- 2005 & 2017
• Water Dragon -- 2012 & 2024
• Little Monkey King's Journey -- 2016 & 2028
• Snake Goddess Colors the World -- 2013 & 2025
• Horse and the Mysterious Drawing -- 2014 & 2026
• Sheep Beauty -- 2015 & 2027
• Bronze Dog -- 2006 & 2018
• Little Rat and the Golden Seed -- 2008 & 2020
• Little Calf -- 2009 & 2021