A good book set for a child who knows at least 1500 characters, and is ready to read novels. Historical adventure fiction., making is an appealing genre.
Tag Archives: Simplified Chinese bridging books
Chinese Home Library: Best Books of 2020 & 2021
Our family’s favourite Chinese book recommendations for each age group from toddler to tween. 3 to 9. As selected by my kids.
Extensive Reading: The secret to learning Chinese
Extensive Reading has been the key to our family’s Chinese learning. It’s about reading widely for pleasure, focusing on of texts where >98% of words/characters are known. This post describes how the approach works, and how stress free it can be. Don’t focus on teaching the child 500 words; focus on setting up a love of literacy for life.
Book Review: Frog and Toad Story Books 青蛙和蟾蜍
Frog and Toad is a charming set of 4-books, which tells a timeless story of friendship, having been written over 50 years ago …. it’s perfect as an early chapter book for an emerging reader, with less pictures and more text. The stories are endearing because Frog and Toad’s adventures are simple every day activities – going for a walk, reading, cooking, cleaning the house or tending a garden. If your child can read >1000 characters, do give this a good look.
Chinese eBook Apps for Children: Comparison and Review
A detailed comparison of nine Chinese e-Book platforms for Children, including Wawayaya JoyReader, Dudu, Ellabook, Epic, and others. The posts covers the range of books available, ease of use, and key considerations.
Mandarin Companion Review
Mandarin Companion books are a really different kind of graded reader / bridging book set. For Levels 1 and 2, they take classics from English literature, and cleverly translate them into books with minimal characters, that can be read by a Mandarin beginner. This concept makes it quite appealing for an older learner, who gets a bit bored by the ‘Tom and Jane’ style beginning books, and enjoy more interesting storylines.
How can a story like Jane Austin’s Emma or Sherlock Holmes, or the Secret Garden be condensed down into just 300 or less characters without losing the intrigue? Well, yes, you’ll see it’s been done very well with Mandarin Companion readers.
Chinese Book Review: Butt Detective Series 屁屁侦探
Butt Detective is a series of kid-friendly mystery detective books, with bright colours, fun plot, and not too much text. The 屁屁侦探 series originates from Japan, and is excellent for a preschool / early primary Chinese reader.
Chinese Bridging Book Review: “New Stars Island” Graded Picture Book Series 《新新岛》分级读本系列 (Set of 36)
This post is about a locally written set of thirty six Simplified Chinese picture books called the “New Star Island” collection, written and printed in Singapore, which are broadly designed to match every year of primary school in Singapore. They’re creatively written, prize winning works, and great for encouraging an older child to read broadly,Continue reading “Chinese Bridging Book Review: “New Stars Island” Graded Picture Book Series 《新新岛》分级读本系列 (Set of 36)”
Chinese Bridging Book Review: I Love Reading Collection (Set of 20)
This post is about a set of twenty Simplified Chinese picture books called the “I Love Reading Collection”, written and printed in Singapore, which are appropriate for lower primary school age readers. They’re mainly fun, and great for learning new vocabulary, aligned to the MOE syllabus. The books are written by the Chou Sing ChuContinue reading “Chinese Bridging Book Review: I Love Reading Collection (Set of 20)”
Book Review: Crow Bakery 乌鸦面包店 (Set of 5)
This endearing set of 5 books (translated from Japanese) centres around the humble beginnings of a mom-and-pop bakery business, opened by two crows in the Spring Forest. It’s an intriguing story following the progression of the bakery – and various other enterprises around the forest – and how the family go about their daily life, through ups and downs, innovating and being resilient. Click link to read my full review including photos.