My blog reviews lots and lots of options for families teaching children Chinese, which are accessible for parents who don’t speak the language. This page summarises briefly the best simplified Chinese resources for families that we’re found.
If you want a basic quick hit list of our favorite suggestions, this is it —>
Chinese Books for Beginners and Early Literacy
- Le Le Chinese: 300 graded reading books which come with an audio reading pen, covering the first ~1200 Chinese characters
- Sage 500: Montessori style textbooks teaching the first 500 characters for young children
- Habbi Habbi: fun board books with uplifting bilingual stories, which come with a reading pen
- Odonata Chinese levelled readers: a cheaper Malaysian equivalent to the above
Books for children who know basic Chinese
Suggested for P1 / P2 silent reading
- New Star Island Graded Picture Book Series designed to match Singapore syllabus
- I Love Reading Collection Graded Picture Book Series designed to match Singapore syllabus
- Disney I will Read by Myself graded reading books filled with Disney stories
- Little sheep goes up the Mountain series : graded reading books from China which are really affordable (if you order direct from China)
- Frog & Toad – hearting warming story with simple vocab
- Little Fox – simple vocab and fun story
Suggested for P3 / P4 silent reading
- Mandarin Companion simple novels (great stories like Secret Garden, Sherlock Holmes, etc)
- Mi Xiao Quan school dairies (a bit like Wimpy Kid)
- Magic Treehouse – translation of the English version
- Les P’tites Poules – adventure story about a chicken family
- Nate the Great – translation of the English version
Resources to support independent reading
- Luka Reading Robot: a reading robot which will narrate Chinese picture books and streams Chinese songs/podcasts
- Netease Youdao Dictionary Pen 2.0: pen which scans any printed text (best for adults)
- iFlyTek Alpha Egg Dictionary Pen: pen which scans any printed text (best for kids)
School learning support
- Vitamin M: innovative online content following P3/P4 Singapore MOE curriculum
- eBooks: various available, including Du Du, Ellabook, Wawayaya JoyReader, etc
- Dim Sum Warriors Learning system: Learn idioms and new vocabulary through food and doodling.
Chinese Literacy Apps
- iHuman Hongen Shizi – for learning first 1200 characters
- Maomi stars – for a younger child, with vocab lists matching Sage or Odonata
- Skritter – to revise tingxie words lists (MOE, HSK, or user entered)
Chinese Online classes
- Lingo Ace: 1-on-1 classes that follow Singapore MOE syllabus or Mainland China’s Syllabus
- Lingo Bus: 1-on-1 classes more suited to non-Chinese families
- GoEast Mandarin: 1-on-1 classes which can be tailored for your child’s ability
- Vivaling: conversational classes with speaking partner in Beijing
- Extra curricular classes with Chinese immersion (piano, debating, art, science, music, Minecraft math, Pokemon, etc): plenty of options
TV / Youtube shows
Printables & Posters
Singapore based bookstores with great Chinese books for children
- Maha Yuyi – for older children
- My Story Treasury – for younger children and Christian resources
- Luka Reads – for Luka compatible books
- Books4Tots – also can request titles for them to add
- Flip for Joy
- Under the Moonlight
Helpful bilingual bloggers
- Hands-on Chinese – great ideas from a language teaching mum
- Motherly Notes – tonnes of books reviews
- Spots of Sunshine – hands on activities
- Bilingual Monkeys – he has written a great book “Maximise your child’s bilingual ability” which is a great read for any parent
Discount codes for my blog
[I receive no commission from this – these discount codes are just for your benefit if I’ve reviewed things you like!]
- Luka Reads: LahLah20Off for S$20 discount on Luka Hero and LahLah10OffBooks for 10% off book purchases.
- My Story Treasury Bookstore: LahLahBanana10 for 10% off products from their store
- Le Le Chinese Graded readers: LAHLAHBANANA for 5% off from the publisher
- Deziremi Bookstore: LAHLAHSPECIAL for 10% off products from their store
- Youdao pen discount code: LAHLAHBANANA for 5% discount from Elite Linguistic Nework
- Alpha egg pen discount code: LAHLAH5OFF for 5% discount from Sagesaurus
If you have something great to add, let me know! Our family loves learning about new things too.