Check It Out:

The Newport Beach Public Library’s Children Department shelves contain thousands of books just waiting to be explored. You can discover all corners of the globe without even leaving your chair — all with the help of great books! This month is the special celebration of the Chinese New Year, so it is the perfect chance to explore Asian culture at your library.

Newport Beach Public Library has many children’s books filled with exciting information on Asian culture that can be shared with friends and family. We have books on all the countries of Asia, culinary cookbooks of Asian delicacies, stories of Asian fairy tales and folklore, and even fully-illustrated books on fun-filled Asian crafts. Here are a few of the Chinese-inspired books you can find at any of our four locations:

“China in Pictures” by Alison Behnke features text and illustrations that present detailed information on the geography, history, government, economy, people, cultural life, and society of traditional and modern China, home to more than one-fifth of the Earth’s population.

“The Chinese Empire” by Marinella Terzi discusses the culture of China over a period of 400 years and examines some of the structures and artwork that remain from that civilization.

“Cooking the Chinese Way: Revised and Expanded to Include New Low-Fat and Vegetarian Recipes” by Lorraine Ling introduces the fundamentals of Chinese cooking, including special ingredients and cooking utensils for such dishes as watercress soup, stir-fried beef with sugar peas, bean sprouts with scallions, and fortune cookies.

“The Young Chef’s Chinese Cookbook” has step-by-step fun recipes for young chefs to make delicious Chinese dishes and special Asian delicacies.

“The Seven Chinese Brothers” by Margaret Mahy is one of the most popular stories in the Chinese folk telling tradition and is based on translations of stories from Chung-Kuo Min Chien Ku Shih. Carefully researched details in the watercolor painting illustrations recreate the period in which the infamous first emperor of China, Ch’in Shih Huang, lived and began building the Great Wall.

“Demi’s Reflective Fables” retells 13 of the author’s favorite traditional Chinese fables for young readers including “The Bat and the Weasels,” “The Phoenix and the Singing Master,” and “A Butterfly’s Dream.”

“Chinese New Year Crafts” by Karen E. Bledsoe provides information about the origins and customs of the Chinese New Year, ideas for celebrating, and instructions for making holiday banners, a dragon streamer puppet and a ribbon lantern.

“Paper Crafts for Chinese New Year” by Randall McGee explains the significance of Chinese New Year and how to make cool crafts out of paper.

Check out these and many other wonderful books on Asian traditions and world cultures at the Newport Beach Central Library or the branch locations at Mariners, Balboa and Corona del Mar.

Make sure to join us for our special program, Asian Craft Day from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Central Library. We will make dragon puppets and origami. Asian Craft Day is a free program for children in first through sixth grades that requires registration via our kids’ website, www.newportkids.org.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of the branches, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.