Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Long Beach, CA

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the Year of the Ox. Lunar New Year is celebrated across Asia, and each country has its own special traditions. Introduce your child to New Year's celebrations in Vietnam, China, and Korea with these picture books:

Ten Mice for Tet is a counting book about the Vietnamese New Year celebration. The embroidered illustrations show scenes of mice celebrating the New Year, and the text is simple enough for a toddler to enjoy. At the end of the book, the author explains each part of the New Year's celebration, from planning a party to watching fireworks.

I'm a big fan of Grace Lin, and I've read several of her books with my daughter, including Dim Sum for Everyone, The Ugly Vegetables, and Kite Flying. In Bringing in the New Year, she takes the reader through a Chinese family's New Year celebration as they clean the house, make dumplings, and join a dragon parade. The illustrations are vibrant and the text is simple, but full of rich detail.

In many Asian countries, buying new clothes and household goods is an important New Year tradition. New Clothes for New Year's Day follows a young Korean girl as she gets dressed in her brightly-colored silk hanbok for the celebration.

Besides wearing new clothes, Korean kids also play a game called Yut-Nori on New Year's Day. The game, which involves throwing sticks and moving a marker around a board, is easy enough for preschoolers. (Board games are a fun way to help children develop skills like taking turns and counting.)  This website offers easy instructions for making your own Yut-Nori board and playing the game.