 
- Books and Me Children's Chinese Library, founded in 2005 by the Zhaoyu Cultural Foundation, is the first children's Chinese library in Northern California. Our library aggregates children's books in simplified and traditional characters, for children between 0 and 10 year-olds.
**Please Note: Our library will be closed on Saturday, 9/5/2026 for Labor Day long weekend.
** 2026 summer library hours (6/6 -8/29) :10am-3:00pm on Saturdays only;
Summer Mandarin Story time from 7/18 to 8/29 will be held at 10:30am.
Starting 9/12, we will resume all regular hours. You are also welcomed to email us at librarian@zhaoyu.org to make appointments for library visits on a weekday; appointment spots are available from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
*Basic membership allows members to check out up to 8 books for free and join our free Saturday story time! Members can make weekday appointments by emailing librarian@zhaoyu.org for visits. You may make a donation to become a VIP member with more benefits. To apply for Free Basic Membership/Library Cards, please click here : Library Membership Application.
* Please refer to the Library Operating Hours chart on the right for drop in or appointments.
*** Important Announcements :
--The fire on 2023 Christmas Day destroyed our building at 4600 El Camino Real. Books and Me Library lost everything, our books and media collections, the entire art studio, and the award winning student artworks and work in progress. Fortunately, there was no one got hurt.
Currently, The Mandarin-immersion Art classes are held in the Emerson School (2800 W. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto) which also has a Mandarin Immersion program. Art Classes will continue in Emerson School. We are still evaluating how to reestablish full library service. A temporary library is set up now and provide lending services and resumed our Saturday story time inside Emerson school as well. Please email us when you come to visit our library.
--Starting in June, 2024, all our class teachers will operate their own classes independently from the Zhaoyu Cultural Foundation. Art and Abacus teachers will continue to provide classes with the same curriculum and instructions in Mandarin! You can check out Teacher Yuming's website:
www.artwithyuming.com
- 2026 Summer "Art With Yuming" Classes
Summer Session will run from Saturday, 6/6 to 8/29/2026. Registration is still open! Learn arts in a Mandarin immersed environment! For detailed class information, please check Teacher Yuming's website
www.artwithyuming.com. You can also follow her on "Art With Yuming" Facebook.
* Group 52/61 (8-11 year olds): Saturdays, 9:15-10:45am
* Group 62-62/63p (4-5 year olds): Saturdays, 11:00-11:50am
* Group 63/64 (6-8 year olds): Saturdays, 12:00-1:00pm
* ADV Group (12 year olds+/by invitation only): Saturdays, 1:15-3:15pm
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2026 Fall "Art With Yuming" Class
Fall Art classes will start on 9/8, 9/11 and 9/12/2026 and all taught in mainly Mandarin with English when necessary:
*NEW* Group 21 (5-7 year-olds): Tuesdays 4:15-5:15pm
* Group 51 (8-11 year-olds): Fridays 4:15-5:15pm
* Group 61 (8-11 year olds): Saturdays, 9:15-10:30am
* Group 62 (4-5 year olds): Saturdays, 10:45-11:35am
* Group 63 (6-8 year olds): Saturdays, 11:45-12:45pm
* Group 62/63P (4-7year olds): Saturdays, 1:00-1:50pm
* Group 64 (8-11 year olds): Saturdays, 2:30-3:30pm
* Group 65 (9-12 year olds): Saturdays, 3:45-5:15pm
* Portfolio Group(High School): Saturdays, 5:15-7:15 (by Invitation Only)
- 2026 Fall In-Person Elementary Abacus Class:
Starts on Saturday, 8/15/2026!
*Class Time: 12:30-1:20pm; 1:30-2:20pm Saturdays
This is class for beginners or students who has some knowledge about abacus. Will be taught in Mandarin and onsite of Emerson School In Palo Alto.
Come join the effective Elementary Abacus class. Our students, age 5 and above, won medals at regional competition! In the weekly class, they learn clear place values and number sense, and improve computation speed by special Abacus technics. Build solid foundation in math and gain confidence in the future class!
Saturday In-Person Class:
Class Time: 12:30-1:20 & 1:30-2:15pm on Saturdays; or privately arranged with Teacher Lydia
**For questions regarding Online Abacus Classes, please email librarian@zhaoyu.org and we will have our abacus teacher contact you directly!
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- Books & Me Children's Chinese Library is open to MEMBERS only.
Membership is free. You will need a Books and Me Library Card to use the facility and check out library items. Please read our library policy carefully.
**To apply for a library card , please use this link: to apply online and email a proof of California Residency to librarian@zhaoyu.org to complete the application and need to pick up the library card later in person
**VIP Membership: Make a donation (min. $40/year) every year to receive borrowing privilege and priority in class registration; and help Books and Me Library provide better service to our community. Please fill out the form here .
or email us at librarian@zhaoyu.org for details.
**All check-out procedures have to be completed 15 minutes before closing time. It will be greatly appreciated if you can reserve enough time to browse and borrow our library materials when visiting the library.
**Due to our members' generosity, limited space, and the pandemic, we CANNOT accept any donation of books and Audio/Visual materials (CDs, VCDs, VHS, or cassette tapes) until further notice. We really appreciate your support to Books and Me Library
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Free In-Person Mandarin Story Time :
Summer Story time 10:30-11:00am; from 7/18-8/29/2026; NO Story Time from 6/20-7/11.
Children's stories told in Mandarin, free for children 2-10 year-old of members. Parents or guardians are required to be with the attending children. No need to sign up for regular story time.
- Library Operating Hours:
Books and Me Library are on Emerson School in Palo Alto. We are open on Saturdays ONLY! *Please call or email librarian@zhaoyu.org for directions to get inside the school building.
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2026 Summer Library Hours (6/6-8/29)
| Saturdays ONLY
10:00am-3:00 pm
closed on 6/13 & 7/4
OR by Appointment
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- Books and Me has thousands of books and audio/visual
materials for children, in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
Topics cover natural sciences,
history, culture, education, parenting and more.
- To renew library items, please email to
librarian@zhaoyu.org. You only can renew once per item.
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Library Theme - July in the lunar calendar
Suggested Reading List (Chinese editions):
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Book: The Water Ghost: The Town God
Written by: Li, Ang
A rich man is framed and thrown into the river and to become a Water Ghost. The Water Ghost wants to be a human again but his newly-made friend: a kind fisherman always brakes his plan. The emperor of dead souls: Yen Lo Wang has been watching and has noticed the kindness and generosity of the Water Ghost. He praises of the Water Ghost, promotes him to be a "Town God"; The "HuoJinGu Folk Story Picture Books" Series includes the most famous six Taiwan folktales. Kids get to read these intriguing stories and also learn the traditional Chinese cultures represented by the stories. Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin, attached with a bilingual CD of Taiwanese and mandarin.
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Book: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
Written by: Huiguang Cai
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is a well-known folk tale. And there are many different versions. The most common one is that the Weaver Girl went down from The Heavenly Cournt and met the Cowherd. He felt in love at first sight and he secretly hid the Weaver Girl's feathers so she could not fly back to the sky. The Weaver Girl stayed and married the Cowboy, and gave birth to two children. The Queen Mother later found out and forced the Weaver Girl to return to the Heavenly Court. The Weaver Girl missed her husband and children and cried every day. The Emperor of Heaven took pity on her so he let them meet once a year, on July 7th of the lunar calendar. This date is also known as Chinese Valentine's Day.This set of "Chinese Folklore Festival Stories" is a set of twenty-five books which includes traditional folk tales and festival legends. Adults and children can enjoy the stories and appreciate the beautiful prints and paper art in each book. Traditional Chinese, Zhuyin, suitable for children over five years old.
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- Volunteers:
The success of Books & Me depends on your involvement. We
are looking for volunteers in many fields. Please write to hr@zhaoyu.org if you are interested in
lending a hand.
- Library Assistant/Admin
- Marketing Assistant
- Storyteller/Activity Teacher
- Activity Organizer
- Web Engineer
- Representives from Chinese schools
- Book Carriers
- Equipment:
Your junk can be a treasure for us. Please contact gift@zhaoyu.org for equipment
donations.
- Chinese children's audio CDs with or without books
- Chinese children's videos
- A flat screen computer monitor 19" or larger
- A Computer projector SVGA resolution or better
- A Projector screen
Due to space constrain, we do not accept
English books, books for adults (except parenting books), and homework
practice type of books. We also do not accept toys and craft items
unless specified on the website.
- Donations:
Public support is essential to the success of the Library. Your
donation to Books & Me through the Zhaoyu Cultural
Foundation is tax deductible. A small donation can help us bring
more books and better service to your children and the community. For
more information, please click here, or contact us at: gift@zhaoyu.org.
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The Zhaoyu Cultural Foundation (ZCF)
is
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the State of
California. Our mission is to promote multi-lingual mastery of Chinese
language, culture and identity among overseas Chinese children in North
America.
The Books & Me Children's Chinese Library is our first
community service. For information about the Foundation and our future
plans, please click links below: |
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- We also want to thank the following volunteers for their
extraordinary work to make the library launch smoothly:
- Gina Ng
- Sheena
Chin
- Jenny Huang
- Sharon Wang
- Sharon Chiu
- Chia-Chun Wu
- Aaron Chum
- Samantha Chang
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