The Great Race for the lunar calendar

Long ago in ancient China, the great Jade Emperor created a calendar as a way to tell time.  He needed to name the years, so he invited all the animals to participate in a great race.  The first 12 animals to finish the race would have a year named in their honor.  Each of the 12 animals has a unique story that defines their characteristics, and those characteristics are shared by anyone who is born in that year!

The Great Race is a story about the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and how they were placed on the lunar calendar. The illustrations are cute, colorful, and inviting young children. The story is told in a way that honors the traditional elements of the Asian culture, yet is easy to understand. Children and parents can learn the origin of the lunar calendar and then identify the animal of their birth years with a date-specific zodiac chart.