Animals of the Chinese Zodiac
The ultimate guide to the Chinese Zodiac, featuring fun facts, frame-worthy illustrations, and a choose your own adventure-style quiz to find your perfect zodiac match!
Are you a patient Ox, a brave Tiger, or a friendly Pig? It’s time to meet your match!
This joyful celebration of cultural traditions offers a funny, interactive, and beautifully illustrated introduction to the Chinese Zodiac for curious kids ages 6-9. Readers will meet the twelve animals of the Zodiac – from the powerful Dragon to the energetic Horse – each with its own personality traits and traditions. But, there’s a twist! While Zodiac animals are determined by birth year, readers can also take the book’s playful flowchart quiz to discover which animal truly matches their personality, reminding them that, ultimately, no label can define them.
Spanning nearly 70 pages, Animals of the Chinese Zodiac is packed with fascinating facts and vibrant storytelling. A fold-out retelling of The Great Race legend reveals how the twelve animals earned their place in the Zodiac, while lively profiles introduce each animal’s strengths, lucky numbers, best friendships, possible future careers, and more. Ping Zhu’s lavish hand-painted illustrations are bold, colorful, and expressive, and the book’s eye-catching foiled cover makes it a perfect gift to be treasured for years to come.
Whether welcoming Lunar New Year or learning about the Chinese Zodiac for the first time, this essential, authentic, and unique book brings an ancient tradition to life for a new generation.
Age range: 6-9
Teresa Robeson is a Chinese-Canadian-American author of children's books, and an artist, with a focus on science, nature, and her cultural voice and heritage. Her work has won the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Picture Book Award, a National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Recommendation, and an International Reading Association Nonfiction Picture Book Honor, plus other awards, lists, and starred reviews.
Ping Zhu is a Chinese-American artist based in Brooklyn, whose work is frequently seen in The New York Times. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design, in 2013 she received the ADC Young Guns award. Her children’s book debut, The Strange Birds of Flannery O’Connor: A Life (2020), was selected by The New York Times as one of the Best Children’s Books of the year.
Shipping
Little Whimsy is an online store based on Auckland’s North Shore. Orders are packed and dispatched from our Hillcrest warehouse.
We aim to dispatch orders within 3 business days, although dispatch may take longer during busy periods, new releases, Christmas and major sales. You’ll receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking once your order has been packed and collected by the courier.
New Zealand shipping
We ship New Zealand-wide.
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Free NZ shipping on orders $200 and over, including rural delivery, unless an oversize surcharge applies
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$9 flat rate courier shipping for orders under $200
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Rural delivery for orders under $200: $14 no signature or $15 signature/photo required
- Some large or bulky items may have an oversize shipping surcharge, which will be shown at checkout where applicable
Most New Zealand orders arrive within 3–5 business days from dispatch, although rural addresses and busy courier periods may take longer.
Please note that delivery timeframes are estimates only and may be affected by courier delays, weather events, public holidays or high-volume periods.
Once your order has been packed, you’ll receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking details.
Tracking may take up to 1 business day to update after your parcel has been collected and scanned by the courier.
Click & collect
Click & collect is available from our Hillcrest warehouse on Auckland’s North Shore.
Pickups are available: Monday and Wednesday, 10am–2pm
Please wait until you receive your collection email before coming in, as this means your order has been packed and is ready to collect. Our warehouse is not open for browsing, and orders cannot be collected before you receive your pickup confirmation.
Delivery address changes
Please check your delivery address carefully before placing your order.
If you notice an address error, contact us as soon as possible. If your order has not yet been packed or collected by the courier, we’ll do our best to update it.
Once an order has been dispatched, we are unable to change the delivery address from our end. You may be able to request a redirect directly through the courier, depending on the service used.
Authority to leave
If you choose authority to leave or request that your parcel is left without a signature, this is at your own risk.
Little Whimsy is not responsible for parcels that are marked as delivered by the courier but are lost, stolen or damaged after being left at the delivery address.
Australian shipping
We ship to Australia, with rates shown at checkout based on your cart and delivery address.
Australian parcels are sent with tracking. Once your parcel arrives in Australia, tracking and delivery are handled by the local postal or courier service.
Any customs charges, duties, taxes or import fees are the responsibility of the customer.
International shipping
We ship to many international destinations, with available rates shown at checkout depending on your cart and delivery country.
International delivery times vary by destination and service selected. Parcels may also be delayed by customs processing or local postal services.
Please note that any customs charges, duties, taxes or import fees are the responsibility of the customer.
Shipping to the United States, including Puerto Rico, is currently paused due to recent tariff and shipping changes.
Bulky or oversized items
Some large, heavy or bulky items may incur additional shipping charges.
Where possible, any oversize surcharge will show at checkout. If your order contains unusually bulky items and the actual shipping cost is significantly higher than charged, we may contact you before dispatch to discuss options.
International duties, taxes & customs fees
For orders delivered outside New Zealand, import VAT, customs duties, tariffs, customs fees, brokerage fees, carrier handling fees and/or local taxes may be payable on arrival. These charges are set by the destination country and/or carrier and are the customer’s responsibility.
By placing an international order, you agree to pay any applicable import charges required for delivery. If a parcel is refused, unpaid, unclaimed or returned to us because these charges are not paid, original shipping, return shipping, carrier fees and any non-refundable charges may be deducted from any refund due.
Sale and busy period dispatch
During major sales, Christmas, new releases or especially busy periods, dispatch may take longer than usual.
We pack orders as quickly as possible in the order they are received and are unable to prioritise individual orders during these periods.
Questions about your order?
If you have a question about shipping, click & collect or your order, please contact us at:
