Chinese readers

It was not until i was sourcing out for good Chinese readers for my nephew that i realised i actually bought quite a number myself. It occured to me that  we own more Chinese books than English! Goes to show how much importance i place on learning mandarin- i think. Nah, it's because it is really difficult to look for a Chinese book that suit our style at the local library that i figured it's better to buy, saves time!

Here is a list of the Chinese readers we have. We don't just have one book in a series, we have the entire set at home!

This was the first Mandarin book i bought for sonshine. I liked the big fonts, minimal words and that it is written in a nursery rhyme format. I read these books to sonshine when he was a toddler.

I think Pelangi Mandarin books get too little exposure, considering that they are really, really good books. I love that the words are simple, fonts are relatively big and there's only one sentence per page. It makes reading (aloud) very easy, the illustrations are attractive too! Plus, the story is usually very short so for those kids who get impatient with Mandarin books, this should fit into their short attention span. Sonshine loved these books when he was a toddler but i am going to pull them out of the shelf again. I think these books are also great to use for teaching the child simple sentence structures.

I think every Singaporean household has a set of Scroll readers! I bought 60 scroll books in a breath! Again, words are huge, story is short. But unlike the Pelangi books, the stories are usually shorter. The purpose of these books is to teach the child new words not so much of giving a great storyline.

I bought a set of this because...you guessed it! The words are simple and fonts are big! LOL. But the great thing about these books is that the sentences get repeated throughout the book. It is so repetitive that it is impossible for the child not know how to read the words! LOL

I love Beany's Mandarin books! I was a tad dissapointed that it comes in only 4-5 (?) books. I wish they published more books! I love that these books are localised. Sonshine loves our transportation system so the above book which shows all our local transport, are right up his alley!

And this is our latest addition! I shunned from this series during sonny's time because i felt it was way too costly. Moreover, sonshine was learning mandarin very well through our flashcards session that i didn't see the need to purchase them.

But i felt the need to get it for babydoll this time round. She prefers to read than to look at the flashcards. She is especially receptive to books that show a word on one page and picture on the other- which is exactly how this book is designed.

Apart from these books, there are also other books that i bought still sitting very nicely on our shelf. I bought a stack of storyline based and small fonts type of Mandarin books. Unfortunately, sonshine is not liking them. He much prefers simple readers like those books above. He's one of 'em kids who has very short patience for Mandarin books!

And not forgetting the other supplementary tools that i bought such as 四五快读 and other learning materials (which i'll share in later posts).

Basic Chinese 500, the book & app

Since we started 四五快读 book 2, i found the words more and more difficult to teach sonshine. Some of the words have no specific meaning (think words like 'the') and it is really tough to explain to him how to use the words-especially when we don't speak Mandarin regularly.

I decided (again) that the best way to do it is to read Mandarin books.That's when i went on another hunt for Mandarin books. This time, i wasn't looking for a good story line just a book with huge fonts and simple words, preferably words that sonshine has just learnt from 四五快读. I wanted a book that sonshine can read aloud to me.

The book i found is the Basic Chinese 500. Actually, I bought our first book long ago, way before it was popular, when it just made its way to the book store. I didn't like it, though sonshine did, so i left it aside until recently.

The book is about right for the boy because the words are not only huge but they are simple enough for him to read & understand. He tends to get put off with too many and too small mandarin words in one page- i mean, who doesn't?

What is really great about this book is that it focuses on one new word in each chapter such that the reader gets to read & see that new word repeatedly. I use the book to compliment our 四五快读 lessons. For instance, now we are learning '还' which is not easy word to explain. So i took this book and turn to the chapter that feature the same word & have sonshine read out loud to me. Hopefully this way he learns how to read and use the new word.

But i really wish it would do away with the Hanyu Pinyin. Sonshine seems to be relying on it to read words that he has forgotten.

I also purchased the app on my ipad after reading a mom's review. But i am disappointed. I do not like the app, although it is much cheaper than the books itself. It is not design to be like a book. In fact, each page is like a new chapter. One word, one sentence is shown on a page. To move on, one would have to return to the main menu to select the next page or lesson. It disrupts the reading. I regret purchasing the app which is not cheap USD$2.99. I do not recommend it.

Lastly, before you scoot off to buy this book do be aware that it is not meant to be a story book. The chapters are not in relation to each other and sometimes the context can be quite silly. The idea of the book is not to give a beautiful story but to help kids to learn new words.

四五快读

Oh yeah. I have jumped onto the band wagon, i have joined the ranks of many moms. I bought myself a set of 四五快读. I have heard of it long ago but i never thought of owning it. So i don't know what came over me when i decided to order it- without knowing exactly what it was! But, no regrets.

四五快读 comes with a series of 7 books. It is meant to be a guidance for parents/teachers who's interested in teaching their children mandarin. The author promises that by the end of the series, the child would be able to read a typical Mandarin article comfortably. I am not going to go into details of the book since the bloggers at My Playschool.net did a great job- especially at translating the first 30 instructional pages of the book. But, what i will share is my personal review.

1) Some parents insist that only those who are comfortable in reading Mandarin should get this book because all of the instructions and guidelines are in Mandarin. Well, i guess if you want to follow all the author's instructions then, yes, you must be somewhat well-versed in Mandarin. But, if you are like me, you prefer your own way of teaching your kids, then it is not necessary to be that proficient. I never follow the way the author taught her daughter, i created my own to suit my son's learning style. Moreover, i feel that the author's methodology suits children who have been conversing in Mandarin or raised in Mandarin-speaking environment. Her suggested method will never work on my sonny. Yet at the same time, you must be familiar with Chinese words otherwise, erm, how are you suppose to teach your child?

2) I like how each lesson is carefully planned such that by the next lesson, the child would be able to read in short phrases and sentences and later in paragraphs. Each lesson is built on the previous. This way, it builts the child's confidence (and mine too)!

3) If you are not sure, i suggest that you purchase one book at a time rather than the whole set at one go. Sure, it is more costly this way, but it's better than buying the whole set only to find out that you don't have enough stamina to complete it! I only found out that the books are separately sold at Popular bookshops after i purchased mine. Otherwise, i would've bought one book at a time.

4) Some say that it is a MUST to read the first 30 pages of the book. So i made myself read my longest ever Mandarin related article, hoping to find treasures but i emerged none the wiser. I find what she wrote is strangely similar to that of Glenn Doman and Montessori books- i secretly think she is a follower too! So what she said about teaching the child with games and through play, that its important to stop while the child is still interested etc were nothing new to me. I also think it is not necessary to read through the pages. But if you need to read up in English, my playschool.net did an awesome job.

Right now, i have completed the first book. Actually, sonshine recognises about 70% words in the first 2 books. But i am taking my time to make sure he knows the new words. I am taking a mighty long time because i want to be sure, doubly sure, triply sure and then sure that i am triply sure that he knows the words.

I don't use games to teach him the new words as the author suggested. I find it too consuming to create games after games so i take the easy way out. I usually select two words per day or per week, depending, and show sonshine the words first by reading it to him. I explain what the words mean. Then i get him to repeat after me and tell me the meaning of the words. Later in the day or the next day, i take the cards out again and ask him to read to me. I do this repeatedly until i am sure the words are well rooted in his memory! However, at the end of the book, i did create games for the boy just to revise the words. This- i will share in separate post.


I bought my copy from Happy Cottage if anyone's interested. 

More Simple Mandarin read

Here are more simple Mandarin books we are reading this week:

After reading Anthony Browne's 我爸爸, it is rightful we read this book! I mean, mothers need to be honored too you know! Again, i love this book because it is very simple (for me to read-aloud) and its short so Sonshine don't feel so torturous reading it.

We read this book in English and love it! So, i thought it would be a good idea to read its Chinese version. I was delighted to learn that the words are easy enough even for the little one to understand. If you are teaching your kid about color mixing, this is a great start. It tells of a story about how a little blue and a little yellow turned into green.

Sonshine and i adore this book! Another simple read with an endearing storyline about how a man made friend with Mr moon and the activities they shared together. I reckon this is another translated book.

Mandarin and all...

When we first became parents, i knew we were in trouble when it comes to our kids chinese education. My husband does not speak a word of mandarin, he cannot even differentiate 我 and 大! He was not educated locally so had managed to escape chinese classes and continued to shun away from the dreaded subject when he came here on scholarship.

As for me, i cannot speak mandarin to save my life. I was raised in an English speaking environment and can safely say, i was only exposed to Mandarin when i went to school. I never read a single Mandarin book in my life because the words give me a headache. My friends would beg me to switch to English if i attempt to speak in Mandarin- i am that bad.

Oddly enough, on paper, i am better in Mandarin than English- not that my English is awesome (i know i know, my grammar, tenses, spelling are all over the place!). I was a A/B grade student which was extraordinary since i have no mandarin exposure other than in school nor tuition. No, i didn't enjoy a single chinese lesson and hated almost ALL my chinese teachers. Don't ask me how i did it, my husband thinks i am a joke.

I thought i would pretty much be freed from the language until i gave birth to sonny sonshine. On the hindsight, perhaps that is why God especially helped me in my mandarin (because he knew i was going to marry a potato partner) so that at least now i can in turn 'save' my children!

Well, the saving grace is, i know enough words to read Mandarin somewhat comfortably and understand the text 80% of the time. I am also equipped enough to look up the chinese dictionary when a mandarin word looks alien to me.

It is true, my children may have difficulty conversing in Mandarin- just like their parents. But i am doing what i can- for now. I am reading lots and lots and lots of Mandarin books to sonshine. My first & foremost aim is NOT to get him to learn Mandarin but to find enjoyment in reading even Mandarin books. That's why i began with the simplest of books so that i can read and so that he can understand and enjoy. Right now, i am slowly introducing to him more Mandarin story books so that he can learn to appreciate the language. I've to say, we've been quite successful. There was a little resistance but once he found the storyline interesting he was hook.

So, here is one book we enjoy reading this week:

It is a book told by a child about how great his father is. How his father is not afraid of the big bad wolf, how he can so effortlessly leap over the moon, how his father can sing & dance so superbly etc. But most importantly, how his father loves him so.

I think this book originated in English and was translated in Mandarin. I enjoyed it because, erm, just because the words are simple enough for me to read! :P But sonny enjoys it too and that's good enough!

谁的自行车- book review

This is a simple Mandarin book. When i say simple, i mean even if your mandarin hinges at Primary school level, you should be well able to read the entire book! Er, yup i am talking about myself!

Anyway, it's another mandarin book we've been reading. On each page the reader will see different types of bicycles, long, short, tall, small etc. Each character will stumble on the next bicycle and ask 'Whose bicycle is this?'. The next character on the following page will say 'It is mine'. That's pretty much the text in the entire book.

I like its repetitive text. In a way, sonshine gets to see the words over and over again- hence drilling him to recognise the words.

ISBN: 9787512301207

贪心的小绵羊- book review

ISBN: 9787532478941, 7532478947

Here's another lovely mandarin book to share. I have to say that some mandarin words are quite alien to me but i am proud i managed (well enough to understand the story)!

It's about this little sheep who was unsatisfied with himself. He thinks he is too small, too slow as compared with the other sheep. He went on an eating spree till he grew bigger, bigger than his friends, bigger than the forest and soon big enough to eat the globe! He stopped eating when he was satisfied with his size but soon realised he was all alone (cause he ate the whole earth including his sheep friends). He felt lonely and sad. Suddenly, he felt the urge to throw up. He threw up everything he ate, including his friends. Soon, everything was back to normal, even his size.

He felt relieved and happy that he was himself again.

Yes, it is a story about accepting oneself & being satisfied with what you have. What you desire may not exactly be the best thing.

Lovely story with lovely graphics. Initially, sonshine wasn't interested (because it was a rather wordy mandarin book- erm by our standards) and sat at the other far end of the bed. But once the story picked up, he quickly came over and even made me flip back the pages so that he can keep up. *SCORE!*

纽扣,掉地上了!

ISBN: 7509403324, 9787509403327

Some Chinese fairy must have sprinkled magic dust all over me, i feel a sudden surge of inspiration and energy to read Mandarin books with N (gasp!). I'll share more of this later.

But, here's a book i chanced upon recently. I love it so much that i had to come here and share.

It's a simple book, VERY simple book about a loose star-shaped button that had dropped on the floor. The book takes the readers on a quest to search for its owner. Was it the snowman's? No, his buttons are circle in shape. Was it the witch's? No, her's triangle. Was it the King's? No, he owns square shape buttons. OH! It belongs to a little child!

If you're teaching your kids about shapes in mandarin, this book is just about right to read to them. As i said, it is a very simple book. I borrowed it, even though, N knows his shapes in Mandarin, because i wanted to intrigue him, entice him to mandarin books. THis book was beautifully written and worked on Sonshine just the way i wanted!