Gadling

As a sidebar to this month's Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Ryan's home is full of books -- about dinosaurs, superheros, America and China. This is one I'd like to get for him when he returns to the US: Adventures of the Treasure Fleet - China Discovers the New World is a unique historical fiction title for kids. Released earlier this year by Tuttle Publishing, it is beautifully illustrated with the colorful detailed drawings of Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard.

Treasure Fleet is the story of seven epic voyages taken by Admiral Zheng He, who led more than 300 brightly painted ships across the South China Sea, to the Indian Ocean and further on to the coast of Africa. The events that occur during the voyages actually took place between 1405 and 1433. The author, Ann Martin Bowler, used diaries of actual crew members as primary sources. Both the stories and photos are full of fantasy and fun -- and should surely inspire explorers of all ages to set out on voyages of their own. I hope it will inspire Ryan and other kids to keep on traveling...always!

Filed under: History, Learning, China, Books, One for the Road, Chinese Buffet