过年啦 It's Chinese New Year! Pop-up Book

Lovely hardcover pop-up book with interactive elements! Kids of all ages would enjoy this title, opening the flaps, helping the child change his clothes and many more. 

Perfect for introducing kids to Chinese New Year, and a conversation starter during CNY visits! 

We first encountered this book years ago at a relative's place while doing New Year visitation! The "kantang" boys immediately took an interest, asking many questions about the traditions as they pored through the details. This then sparked three-generational 三代 conversations about how we celebrate Chinese New Year across the years!

Let's involve our kids in the festive fun by⁠
📝 Counting down! 正月初一 is 20 days away 倒数⁠
📝 Getting new outfits 买新衣⁠
📝 Decorating the home with festive items 摆上新年装饰⁠
📝 Getting CNY goodies 办年货⁠
📝 Talking about reunion dinner 团圆饭⁠

This pop-up book will give you ALL the conversation starters you need to discuss the above with your child. If you want to interest your child in the most important Chinese traditional festival, this book is perfect for you!
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I have left this book out for my boys to flip on their own, and it has gotten them more excited each day about CNY.
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It is just like a busy book perfect for little hands, only better because it is CNY-themed and help my boys stay rooted in our Chinese heritage!⁠

A book that helps traditions come alive? A precious gem and worth every cent. 

Be sure to check out other titles related to CNY and Chinese culture!

 Format: Hardcover

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MAKING DUMPLINGS 一起包饺子 We read about making dumplings together in 《过年啦!》Chinese New Year Pop-up Book, introduced in the previous post! Since I will be in post-baby confinement during CNY, I decided to make some dumplings ahead of time, and freeze a big batch so we can have them ready to enjoy when the craving strikes! We had two different fillings 🥟 minced pork, cabbage, chives 🥟 minced chicken, cabbage, spring onion wrapped inside store-bought chilled dumpling skin 水饺皮 My late grandma taught me years ago, for Asian dishes, the basic marinade for meat consists of: Light soy sauce 酱青 Sesame oil 麻油 White pepper powder 白胡椒粉 After the fillings were prepared, I sat down at my mum-in-law's dining table to wrap these goodies. The curious kids came uninvited and asked to make some too! My hands were all sticky with raw meat, so didn't manage to take more photos of the process with kids. My dumplings aren't very pretty, but as long as the filling is enclosed within the skin, it'll work and taste the same! 😅 For one dumpling, I accidentally used 2 dumpling skins and it turned out funny-looking. We had a good laugh about it, and I tried to remind my sometimes-perfectionist son that making mistakes is perfectly okay. I tried to be chill and just let the kids have fun, following the basic steps and maintaining basic food hygiene. Meat fillings spilling out? No worries, we'll just steam them instead of boiling them in water, so they stay relatively intact. The ingredients are still the same, and will taste the same, isn't it? I hope they remember us giggling over spilled meat and being proud of their own creations, as well as enjoying the yummy fruit of their labour! To freeze, we laid the wrapped dumplings on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spaced apart. After a few hours, we popped them into ziploc bags to save space in the freezer. To enjoy, just put the frozen dumplings in boiling pot of water till they float, or steam till the dumplings puff up! Safest way is just to try one. Pan-frying them afterwards makes it extra yummy! Perfect paired with sliced ginger and black rice wine vinegar. Do tag us if you try this with your child!

A post shared by Linxin - Mandarin Booklover (@mystorytreasury) on Jan 5, 2020 at 2:04am PST