Berlitz's My House:  Lift-the-flap Board Book, in Chinese and English, is a great way to introduce your child to Mandarin Chinese.  There are 6 scenes with cute illustrations and mulitple flaps to lift to learn several new words in simplified Chinese, pinyin, and English.

In "my house", you learn to say Hello, Welcome, cloud, mailbox, sun, bicycle, window, flower, and tree in Chinese.  Similarly, you can learn simple words in "my family", "the playroom", "the kitchen", "the bathroom", and "the bedroom" (including Good night!). 

If you have any trouble with the pronunciation of the words, you can hear them online at the website www.berlitzpublishing.com.  Great book!  to buy

The Usborne Internet-Linked First Thousand Words in Chinese, by Heather Amery, illustrated by Stephen Cartwright, provides a brief introduction to Chinese language, including a rough guide to pronouncing pinyin and the 4 tones in Mandarin Chinese. 

The first section shows pictures of different scenes, such as "At Home".  These particular pages show the rooms in a house and the basic objects and furnishings inside the house.  There is no English on these pages, only simplified Chinese characters and pinyin in very small print.  They cover the kitchen, the garden, the garage, the street, the toy store, the park, the zoo, travel, the country, the farm, the seaside, the school, the hospital, the doctor's office, a party, and the store.

Next, there are pictures of foods, body parts, clothing, occupations, family members, things to do, opposites, days of the week, times of day, special days, the weather, the seasons, pets, sports, exercise, colors, shapes, numbers, the amusement park, and the circus.  Phew--very comprehensive!

At the end of the book, there is a word list, listed alphabetically in pinyin, where you can look up the English translation to any word in the book that you don't know.  If you have trouble pronouncing any of the words, you can go to their website and listen to all of the words in the book spoken by a native Chinese speaker.  For added fun, you can look for the hidden duck in every big picture, characteristic of Stephen Cartwright's work in Usborne books.

Although the Chinese characters and pinyin seem to be very tiny in this book, I do love this book for its wonderful illustrations and practical vocabulary lists. to buy

Here's a great introduction to yoga for little ones.  The book My Daddy is a Pretzel:  Yoga for Parents and Kids by Baron Baptiste gives detailed instructions on how to do 9 different yoga poses and explains the purpose behind each pose.  It's wonderfully illustrated with cute, multicultural characters demonstrating the various yoga positions.

You will learn how to do the Tree Pose (Vrksasana), the Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), the Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), the Airplane Pose (Dekasana), the Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana), the Plow Pose (Halasana), the Fish Pose (Matsyasana), the Lion Pose (Simhasana), and the Pretzel Pose (Marichyasana).

At the end of the book, there are tips for young yogis for preparation, practice, and having the right attitude, such as respecting your body and believing in yourself.  What a terrific book!  to buy

In the book Zen Shorts, by Jon Muth, Addy, Michael, and Karl find a Giant Panda in their backyard one day.  Stillwater, the panda, "spoke with a slight panda accent."

The next day, Stillwater tells Addy a wonderful story about giving in Uncle Ry and the Moon.  The next day, Michael hears an interesting story about luck, which can be viewed from different perspectives, in The Farmer's Luck.  The day after that, Karl is told a story about forgiveness in A Heavy Load.

At the end of the book, the author's note explains the meaning of the Japanese word "Zen"--meditation.  This is a thought-provoking book for early grade-schoolers, with stories which challenge them to re-examine the way they see things in life.  Highly recommended!  to buy