Tong Yao La La La (童谣啦啦啦）ISBN: 9864186299 I am almost ashamed that I had not recommended this book until now. Although we have tried several books focused on songs and lyrics, this one is by far our favorite. Both kids have grown up with it and have learned the 18 children's songs in it.
Now, I do believe a parent's choice of songs to sing to her kids is very personal and is dependent on her own background. A song you enjoyed in your childhood is likely to become enjoyable again when you share it with kids, even if you intentionally turned away from it over many years of adulthood. I happened to grow up in Taiwan with a Japanese grandmother, so the songs in this particular book are perfect because they are either traditional children's songs throughout the last 40+ years in Taiwan (and possibly other Chinese-speaking countries) like Liang Zhi Lao Hu, or songs translated to Chinese from traditional Japanese children's songs. You will very likely prefer a different set of songs, and thus a different book. I would thus like to focus on some features of this book that I especially like.
- A CD of all the songs is included. Each song is sung once in its original melody, spoken once (with background accompaniment), and sung again the third time. The recordings are clear, and the kids really enjoy this CD.
- The book contains 18 short songs - we can easily go through the entire book in <5 minutes, singing every song at least once
- Each turn of the page contains one song with lyrics in large print, and a very cute and clear picture relevant to that song
- The end of the book has a few pages for the parents, suggesting gestures or games to go along with each song. I haven't followed these, but have developed my own set of gestures to go with every song, and it is so much fun watching the kids go through them with me together
- The songs cover enough of what I consider the "classics" from my childhood, but avoids the patriotic or military ones
The publisher is http://www.acmebooks.com.tw/ - they seem to have an online ordering process, and if you can figure out how to get them shipped to the U.S. from Taiwan, I would love to know!
Oh, and here are the songs:
- Ding Zi, Xiao Mao, Gou (钉子,小猫,狗)
- Ba Luo Bo (拔萝卜)
- Shuo Ha Luo (说哈罗)
- Tou Er Jian Bang Xi Jiao Zhi (头儿肩膀膝脚趾)
- Cai Quan Ge (猜拳歌)
- Huo Che Kuai Fei (火车快飞)
- Zao Fei Ji (造飞机)
- Liang Zhi Lao Hu (两只老虎)
- Da Xiang (大象)
- Ha Ba Gou (哈巴狗)
- Mu Ya Dai Xiao Ya (母鸭带小鸭)
- Yu Er Yu Er Shui Zhong You (鱼儿于儿水中游)
- Hu Die (蝴蝶)
- Wai Po Qiao (外婆桥)
- Mei Mei Bei Zhe Yang Wa Wa (妹妹背着洋娃娃)
- Xiao Xing Xing (小星星)
- Ma Ma De Yan Jing (妈妈的眼睛)
- Xia Yu (下雨)
Books Translated from English
The majority of books I have reviewed so far have been written originally in Chinese, or translated from a language other than English (several are originally Japanese). I'm certainly not a purist - if you can find your child's favorite book from school in Chinese, that's great. Below are some classics that I have found, as well as ones I have been disappointed not to have found yet. Perhaps you can help! In this section, I will skip summaries of the plots, and focus on the translations and/or the sources.
Dr. Seuss' books - When I first started looking for Chinese children's books, I was surprised that most of the Dr. Seuss' books have been translated into Chinese, and are available both at the San Mateo County libraries and at Books and Me. These are bilingual versions, and upon closer inspection, written with the purpose to teach English to people in China or Taiwan. A couple of books do a fair job attempting to keep the rhyme while still having the story make sense, such as Cat in a Hat. Most of them sound awful in Chinese, and do not make sense at all. I tried a few, but have given up.
Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel - I was very happy recently to have found in the Millbrae library a couple of these classic Frog and Toad Are Friends books in the Chinese children's section. They were also published mostly for the English learners, and contain CDs of Mr. Lobel reading these stories in English. The pages with the pictures are all in Chinese, and the original English version is at the end. The translator did a wonderful job - these stories read smoothly, and preserve the humor and warmth of the original tales. The San Mateo libraries only have two of the four books in this series, and I was surprised to find that Books and Me does not carry them. But if your child's also into these books, like Calvin is, give the Chinese version a try!
Olivia series by Ian Falconer - yes, everybody knows and loves Olivia the pig, including the Chinese. The original Olivia book is available through the San Mateo County libraries; both the original one and Olivia Saves the Circus are available at Books and Me. These are all written in Chinese, for the Chinese-speaking kids to enjoy. Calvin actually got a dose of the Chinese Olivia (Ao Li Wei) before he realized she also existed in English - and loved her every bit as much as an American kid would.
The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen - I got the Chinese version (the one about electricity) from the Millbrae library recently, and Calvin took a look and told me they had these books at school. However, the school teachers apparently never read them to the kids, so Calvin was very happy to hear me read the Chinese version. Through this version, I learned many technical Chinese terms about electricity myself, and of course I will forget them in a week while Calvin will remember them for the next year. Even though Calvin's interest, coupled with my desire to improve my own Chinese, drove me to lend a couple more Magic School Bus books (from Books and Me - the San Mateo libraries only have the one about electricity), these are still impossible to read word-for-word. The translation is actually pretty awful, even in the "easy" sections describing only the plot and not the scientific details. Many colloquial American terms or expressions really should not be directly translated, but they are in these books, and they sound forced. I would have to do my homework, read the books myself to figure out which main points I want to talk about on each page, and only focus on those when I read to Calvin. Despite all my complaints, how can I resist getting him more of these books when he shouted in glee a couple of days ago: "Xie Xie Ma Ma! You know I love these Magic School Bus books! Let's read them now!!"
What I would like to find in Chinese, but have not:
- Berenstein Bears - I know the VCDs exist, and so do the books. But where can we get them from?
- Oliver Pig and Amanda Pig series by Jean Van Leeuwen
- Caillou - OK, so I know they're not so politically correct, and the two Chinese girls who are Caillou's friends are both stereotypically Chinese-looking, and one of them even wears Qing-Dynasty clothes every day to school. But should that stop people from translating these shows and books?
What I'm sure you already know:
Thomas, Dora, and Diego exist in every language possible, including Chinese. In Taiwan (and probably also in China), Dora and Diego speak mostly in Chinese, with a few English words here and there. :-)
Dr. Seuss' books - When I first started looking for Chinese children's books, I was surprised that most of the Dr. Seuss' books have been translated into Chinese, and are available both at the San Mateo County libraries and at Books and Me. These are bilingual versions, and upon closer inspection, written with the purpose to teach English to people in China or Taiwan. A couple of books do a fair job attempting to keep the rhyme while still having the story make sense, such as Cat in a Hat. Most of them sound awful in Chinese, and do not make sense at all. I tried a few, but have given up.
Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel - I was very happy recently to have found in the Millbrae library a couple of these classic Frog and Toad Are Friends books in the Chinese children's section. They were also published mostly for the English learners, and contain CDs of Mr. Lobel reading these stories in English. The pages with the pictures are all in Chinese, and the original English version is at the end. The translator did a wonderful job - these stories read smoothly, and preserve the humor and warmth of the original tales. The San Mateo libraries only have two of the four books in this series, and I was surprised to find that Books and Me does not carry them. But if your child's also into these books, like Calvin is, give the Chinese version a try!
Olivia series by Ian Falconer - yes, everybody knows and loves Olivia the pig, including the Chinese. The original Olivia book is available through the San Mateo County libraries; both the original one and Olivia Saves the Circus are available at Books and Me. These are all written in Chinese, for the Chinese-speaking kids to enjoy. Calvin actually got a dose of the Chinese Olivia (Ao Li Wei) before he realized she also existed in English - and loved her every bit as much as an American kid would.
The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen - I got the Chinese version (the one about electricity) from the Millbrae library recently, and Calvin took a look and told me they had these books at school. However, the school teachers apparently never read them to the kids, so Calvin was very happy to hear me read the Chinese version. Through this version, I learned many technical Chinese terms about electricity myself, and of course I will forget them in a week while Calvin will remember them for the next year. Even though Calvin's interest, coupled with my desire to improve my own Chinese, drove me to lend a couple more Magic School Bus books (from Books and Me - the San Mateo libraries only have the one about electricity), these are still impossible to read word-for-word. The translation is actually pretty awful, even in the "easy" sections describing only the plot and not the scientific details. Many colloquial American terms or expressions really should not be directly translated, but they are in these books, and they sound forced. I would have to do my homework, read the books myself to figure out which main points I want to talk about on each page, and only focus on those when I read to Calvin. Despite all my complaints, how can I resist getting him more of these books when he shouted in glee a couple of days ago: "Xie Xie Ma Ma! You know I love these Magic School Bus books! Let's read them now!!"
What I would like to find in Chinese, but have not:
- Berenstein Bears - I know the VCDs exist, and so do the books. But where can we get them from?
- Oliver Pig and Amanda Pig series by Jean Van Leeuwen
- Caillou - OK, so I know they're not so politically correct, and the two Chinese girls who are Caillou's friends are both stereotypically Chinese-looking, and one of them even wears Qing-Dynasty clothes every day to school. But should that stop people from translating these shows and books?
What I'm sure you already know:
Thomas, Dora, and Diego exist in every language possible, including Chinese. In Taiwan (and probably also in China), Dora and Diego speak mostly in Chinese, with a few English words here and there. :-)
Books with accompanying VCDs
All the books in this section are from the Taiwanese publisher Aichi (愛智圖書, www.aichibooks.com.tw), and I bought them as sets. Each set came with five books, a VCD containing animated versions of the five stories as well as audio-only versions of the stories. This gave me flexibility to play the stories on TV at home, or play them on the CD player in the car.
The wonderful thing about these videos is that the "animation" is really minimal, and uses only illustrations in the books. This means that the TV-watching process is as close to the book-reading process as possible. In other words, these are not animations with fast motions that negatively affect children's overall attention span - if you believe in that stuff. For us, the advantage was that these video and audio versions increased our kids' familiarity, and hence interest, in the stories. They therefore encouraged our kids to pull these books out themselves and read them. Sometimes our kids are so familiar with the occasional background music that, as they go through a certain section of a book, they will start humming the accompanying music.
In a previous section, I already reviewed Shen Mi Xiao Huo Che (神秘小火车). In this section, I will list the sets that I own, give some comments on each set, and pick out a couple of favorite books to go into detail.
1. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Pai Dui (小小故事 派队), ISBN: 9576083176 - This was the first set we owned, back when only Calvin was old enough to appreciate these stories. My mom picked this in a hurry, not knowing anything about the stories. After we opened the box and read the books to Calvin, we knew we would be getting more of these sets.
- Re Hu Hu De San Feng Xin (热呼呼的三封信): about a mail-delivering bird Jiu-Jiu, who realizes that a skunk Ke-Ke in the hospital is not getting better because he doesn't have friends (perfectly chosen animal). Jiu-Jiu sends anonymous mail to Ke-Ke to cheer him up. As expected (by the adult readers), Ke-Ke recovers, finds out Jiu-Jiu had sent the letters, and becomes good friends with the cheerful bird.
- Shen Mi Xiao Huo Che (神秘小火车): reviewed in a previous section with other books about trains.
- Bian Se Long Bu Bian Se (变色龙不变色): a humbling example showing that books I think are odd may be perfectly enjoyed by my kids. An iguana tries not to change colors, because he thought changing colors made his friends ignore him. I don't think the iguana is cute. I think the plot is confusing, and the moral of the story is too buried for little kids. How wrong I am! Jason has completely memorized the book word-for-word, and roams around oftentimes mumbling to himself: "The giraffe thought Iguana was part of the leaf and accidentally ate him. 'Iguana, I don't eat meat!', said the giraffe while coughing."
- A Fu Zhong Tian (阿福种田): an opposite example from the last book, showing that books I think are absolutely fabulous may not make it to the top of the kids' list. Adults who have grown up in Taiwan will enjoy the accurately (and adorably) illustrated Taiwanese country side: the scenery, house decor, nick names, clothing accessories, etc. Just remember that your kids likely don't carry those same memories and sentiments. To them, it's just another story about a farmer whose neighbors end up helping him with the farm work.
- Hai Dai Ke Le Bing (海带可乐饼): with a theme of environmental awareness, this story features a greedy shark and his attempts to become the largest producer of a special seaweed dessert. You can imagine the consequences of a large factory in the midst of the ocean, seaweeds dug out in large quantities, and oil dumped into the ocean... The end is very anti-Hollywood. After the factory closes down because of the lack of seaweed and accidents in the kitchen, the streets once filled with fish are now empty. The last page simply says that little green seaweeds start to grow in this silent ocean, and they slowly sway with the movements of the waves (imagine this written poetically in Chinese... believe me, it is beautiful).
2. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Xing Qiu (小小故事星球), ISBN: 9789576083532 - My life would be different right now without this set. We read these stories every night, and we quote from them throughout our time together. We listen to these stories on the way to and back from school, and we hum the background songs together. Here is a list of them.
- Qiao Ke Li Mao Shu Dian (巧克力猫书店): our favorite. A chocolate-colored, book-loving cat opens a bookstore after his books take up every empty space in his house. In this bookstore, a little fox would sit in a corner reading books all day long, but ended up running away when choco-cat approached him. In the end, the little fox revealed that he loved the books so much but did not have enough money to buy them. Choco-cat smiled and told him that if he was willing to help out once in a while in the store, he would get some books as presents. The final page has Choco-cat and the little fox sitting in front of the store with drinks next to them, and the words simply say, "If you happen to be in Seagull Town and walk by a little red house as you smell the coffee and listen to the wind chime, why don't you come in for a visit." It is just enough to not feel too "cheesy", but still sends a smile to my face every time. The other books in this set are:
- Dang Hei Mao Yu Jian Bai Mao (当黑猫遇见白猫): another cat-based story about love and courage
- Wo De Yie Zi Xiao Shu (我的叶子小书): the kids' least favorite in this set; not a surprise, since each page describes a type of leaves
- Wo Men Dou Shi Yi Shu Jia (我们都是艺术家): a lizard describing how all his family members are artists; the illustrations are abstract, but the kids seem to understand them (more than I do)
- Shu Cai De Hua Zhuang Wu Hui (蔬 菜的化妆舞会): a cinderella story played by different vegetables; my kids have not been as interested in any vegetable-based stories as this one
3. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Sen Lin (小小故事森林), ISBN: 9576082560 - A wonderful set that contains five high-quality stories, with a variety of themes and illustration styles. Jason likes all five stories; Calvin likes them too, but he has heard them so many times (upon Jason's request) that he no longer wants to hear them. These are the stories:
- Jin Niu Kou De Sheng Yin (金纽扣的声音): an imaginative story that teaches kids to treat others well, featuring a cat family and their friendship with a blind mole. This can be enjoyed both by older kids because of the complexity of the plot, and by younger kids because of the distinctive and cute characters.
- Dong Dong De Luo Yie (冬冬的落叶): a simple story about a tree name Dong-Dong whose leaves have all fallen for the first time. I did not guess that Jason would end up loving a story centered around a tree (without facial features) this much! It is winter now, and whenever we walk by fallen leaves, Jason and I would start talking about Dong-Dong.
- Wan Dou Xiong Di (宛豆兄弟): peas in a pod are brothers living in the same room, all with different hobbies. They teach each other, so that all end up enjoying these hobbies (reading, drawing, singing and dancing). Suitable for younger kids.
- Xiao Ci Wei Xue Hua Hua (小刺猬学画画): a hedgehog wants to draw, and learns from his friend that drawing is for each person's enjoyment, not to compete with others. Fitting with the theme is this artist's very childish style of drawing. In fact, we have read several other books of his, and the kids truly enjoy them without caring about the drawing style.
- Liu Lang Xiao Lao Shu De Jia (流浪小老鼠的家): homeless mice find form friendship with each other, and build a house together with things they find in the street.
4. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Zhong Zi (小小故事种子), ISBN: 9576082795 - Calvin and Jason only like two of the stories in this set, and neither of those two can be called one of their favorites. This is perhaps the most "advanced" set, although they are all labeled for ages 3-8. Here I will only list the titles, with minimal descriptions.
- Guo Wang Yu Muo Dou (国王与魔豆): here's a story I find a bit odd, and so do my kids. Calvin is scared by the witches, and by the king's face turning green when he saw an angry face appear in the cappucino calling him a liar. Yes, now you probably agree with me that the story's a bit odd.
- Xiao Bu Ding Ai Tou Ting (小布丁爱偷听): one of the two stories we like. I especially like the cutely drawn frog, Xiao Bu Ding, who finds a conch and starts using that to eavesdrop. Everything ends well - Xiao Bu Ding learns what he shouldn't do, and his friends forgive him.
- Pu Pu De Xin Fang Zi (普普的新房子): a hermit crab's search for a new "house" makes him realize real estate is expensive (something only adults can appreciate), beaches are polluted (ok, a concept children can learn), and creativity saves the day (he makes his own house by decorating an empty can). Our kids also like this one, but don't get too excited about it. Thus, it's actually a book I often choose when I really want them to fall asleep.
- Xiang Nian (想念): a realistic book featuring little mouse Sha-Sha, whose grandfather had just passed away. The story centers around her father's conversations with Sha-Sha to comfort her but still remain realistic. There is no heaven, and no reincarnated mouse. But the concept of reincarnation is touched upon, when daddy points out how the fallen leaves came from the tree, and will now become part of the nourishment for the tree. Perhaps the concepts are too deep - but the real reason my kids don't want to read this book is, they don't want to feel sad.
5. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Hua Yuan (小小故事花园), ISBN: 9576082404 - Our least favorite set. The stories are overall shorter, and the illustrations are not eye-catching to the kids. We almost never read any of these stories, even though they still listen to them in the car. Instead of describing each story, I'll just list what they are.
- Li Wu (礼物)
- Xiao Hou Zi Lu Ba Ba (小猴子鲁巴巴)
- Xiang Jiao A Qi (香蕉阿奇)
- Chao Ren Xiao Ma Yi (超人小蚂蚁)
- Nian Shou Lu La Hui Jia Le (年狩鲁拉回家了)
P.S. As I wrote about these books, I realized that this is the first posting I've written in which I own all the books. The other postings have been a mixture of books I own and books I've borrowed from the library. There is a different feeling, I have to admit. The characters in the books we own have become part of our family. Perhaps some of them are like the shy cats whom you see once in a while. However, we know they're available whenever we're home, and we've internalized the favorite characters so that they're always with us. If we start building this type of relationship with characters in a library book, it's time we look really hard about how to buy that book.
The wonderful thing about these videos is that the "animation" is really minimal, and uses only illustrations in the books. This means that the TV-watching process is as close to the book-reading process as possible. In other words, these are not animations with fast motions that negatively affect children's overall attention span - if you believe in that stuff. For us, the advantage was that these video and audio versions increased our kids' familiarity, and hence interest, in the stories. They therefore encouraged our kids to pull these books out themselves and read them. Sometimes our kids are so familiar with the occasional background music that, as they go through a certain section of a book, they will start humming the accompanying music.
In a previous section, I already reviewed Shen Mi Xiao Huo Che (神秘小火车). In this section, I will list the sets that I own, give some comments on each set, and pick out a couple of favorite books to go into detail.
1. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Pai Dui (小小故事 派队), ISBN: 9576083176 - This was the first set we owned, back when only Calvin was old enough to appreciate these stories. My mom picked this in a hurry, not knowing anything about the stories. After we opened the box and read the books to Calvin, we knew we would be getting more of these sets.
- Re Hu Hu De San Feng Xin (热呼呼的三封信): about a mail-delivering bird Jiu-Jiu, who realizes that a skunk Ke-Ke in the hospital is not getting better because he doesn't have friends (perfectly chosen animal). Jiu-Jiu sends anonymous mail to Ke-Ke to cheer him up. As expected (by the adult readers), Ke-Ke recovers, finds out Jiu-Jiu had sent the letters, and becomes good friends with the cheerful bird.
- Shen Mi Xiao Huo Che (神秘小火车): reviewed in a previous section with other books about trains.
- Bian Se Long Bu Bian Se (变色龙不变色): a humbling example showing that books I think are odd may be perfectly enjoyed by my kids. An iguana tries not to change colors, because he thought changing colors made his friends ignore him. I don't think the iguana is cute. I think the plot is confusing, and the moral of the story is too buried for little kids. How wrong I am! Jason has completely memorized the book word-for-word, and roams around oftentimes mumbling to himself: "The giraffe thought Iguana was part of the leaf and accidentally ate him. 'Iguana, I don't eat meat!', said the giraffe while coughing."
- A Fu Zhong Tian (阿福种田): an opposite example from the last book, showing that books I think are absolutely fabulous may not make it to the top of the kids' list. Adults who have grown up in Taiwan will enjoy the accurately (and adorably) illustrated Taiwanese country side: the scenery, house decor, nick names, clothing accessories, etc. Just remember that your kids likely don't carry those same memories and sentiments. To them, it's just another story about a farmer whose neighbors end up helping him with the farm work.
- Hai Dai Ke Le Bing (海带可乐饼): with a theme of environmental awareness, this story features a greedy shark and his attempts to become the largest producer of a special seaweed dessert. You can imagine the consequences of a large factory in the midst of the ocean, seaweeds dug out in large quantities, and oil dumped into the ocean... The end is very anti-Hollywood. After the factory closes down because of the lack of seaweed and accidents in the kitchen, the streets once filled with fish are now empty. The last page simply says that little green seaweeds start to grow in this silent ocean, and they slowly sway with the movements of the waves (imagine this written poetically in Chinese... believe me, it is beautiful).
2. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Xing Qiu (小小故事星球), ISBN: 9789576083532 - My life would be different right now without this set. We read these stories every night, and we quote from them throughout our time together. We listen to these stories on the way to and back from school, and we hum the background songs together. Here is a list of them.
- Qiao Ke Li Mao Shu Dian (巧克力猫书店): our favorite. A chocolate-colored, book-loving cat opens a bookstore after his books take up every empty space in his house. In this bookstore, a little fox would sit in a corner reading books all day long, but ended up running away when choco-cat approached him. In the end, the little fox revealed that he loved the books so much but did not have enough money to buy them. Choco-cat smiled and told him that if he was willing to help out once in a while in the store, he would get some books as presents. The final page has Choco-cat and the little fox sitting in front of the store with drinks next to them, and the words simply say, "If you happen to be in Seagull Town and walk by a little red house as you smell the coffee and listen to the wind chime, why don't you come in for a visit." It is just enough to not feel too "cheesy", but still sends a smile to my face every time. The other books in this set are:
- Dang Hei Mao Yu Jian Bai Mao (当黑猫遇见白猫): another cat-based story about love and courage
- Wo De Yie Zi Xiao Shu (我的叶子小书): the kids' least favorite in this set; not a surprise, since each page describes a type of leaves
- Wo Men Dou Shi Yi Shu Jia (我们都是艺术家): a lizard describing how all his family members are artists; the illustrations are abstract, but the kids seem to understand them (more than I do)
- Shu Cai De Hua Zhuang Wu Hui (蔬 菜的化妆舞会): a cinderella story played by different vegetables; my kids have not been as interested in any vegetable-based stories as this one
3. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Sen Lin (小小故事森林), ISBN: 9576082560 - A wonderful set that contains five high-quality stories, with a variety of themes and illustration styles. Jason likes all five stories; Calvin likes them too, but he has heard them so many times (upon Jason's request) that he no longer wants to hear them. These are the stories:
- Jin Niu Kou De Sheng Yin (金纽扣的声音): an imaginative story that teaches kids to treat others well, featuring a cat family and their friendship with a blind mole. This can be enjoyed both by older kids because of the complexity of the plot, and by younger kids because of the distinctive and cute characters.
- Dong Dong De Luo Yie (冬冬的落叶): a simple story about a tree name Dong-Dong whose leaves have all fallen for the first time. I did not guess that Jason would end up loving a story centered around a tree (without facial features) this much! It is winter now, and whenever we walk by fallen leaves, Jason and I would start talking about Dong-Dong.
- Wan Dou Xiong Di (宛豆兄弟): peas in a pod are brothers living in the same room, all with different hobbies. They teach each other, so that all end up enjoying these hobbies (reading, drawing, singing and dancing). Suitable for younger kids.
- Xiao Ci Wei Xue Hua Hua (小刺猬学画画): a hedgehog wants to draw, and learns from his friend that drawing is for each person's enjoyment, not to compete with others. Fitting with the theme is this artist's very childish style of drawing. In fact, we have read several other books of his, and the kids truly enjoy them without caring about the drawing style.
- Liu Lang Xiao Lao Shu De Jia (流浪小老鼠的家): homeless mice find form friendship with each other, and build a house together with things they find in the street.
4. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Zhong Zi (小小故事种子), ISBN: 9576082795 - Calvin and Jason only like two of the stories in this set, and neither of those two can be called one of their favorites. This is perhaps the most "advanced" set, although they are all labeled for ages 3-8. Here I will only list the titles, with minimal descriptions.
- Guo Wang Yu Muo Dou (国王与魔豆): here's a story I find a bit odd, and so do my kids. Calvin is scared by the witches, and by the king's face turning green when he saw an angry face appear in the cappucino calling him a liar. Yes, now you probably agree with me that the story's a bit odd.
- Xiao Bu Ding Ai Tou Ting (小布丁爱偷听): one of the two stories we like. I especially like the cutely drawn frog, Xiao Bu Ding, who finds a conch and starts using that to eavesdrop. Everything ends well - Xiao Bu Ding learns what he shouldn't do, and his friends forgive him.
- Pu Pu De Xin Fang Zi (普普的新房子): a hermit crab's search for a new "house" makes him realize real estate is expensive (something only adults can appreciate), beaches are polluted (ok, a concept children can learn), and creativity saves the day (he makes his own house by decorating an empty can). Our kids also like this one, but don't get too excited about it. Thus, it's actually a book I often choose when I really want them to fall asleep.
- Xiang Nian (想念): a realistic book featuring little mouse Sha-Sha, whose grandfather had just passed away. The story centers around her father's conversations with Sha-Sha to comfort her but still remain realistic. There is no heaven, and no reincarnated mouse. But the concept of reincarnation is touched upon, when daddy points out how the fallen leaves came from the tree, and will now become part of the nourishment for the tree. Perhaps the concepts are too deep - but the real reason my kids don't want to read this book is, they don't want to feel sad.
5. Xiao Xiao Gu Shi Hua Yuan (小小故事花园), ISBN: 9576082404 - Our least favorite set. The stories are overall shorter, and the illustrations are not eye-catching to the kids. We almost never read any of these stories, even though they still listen to them in the car. Instead of describing each story, I'll just list what they are.
- Li Wu (礼物)
- Xiao Hou Zi Lu Ba Ba (小猴子鲁巴巴)
- Xiang Jiao A Qi (香蕉阿奇)
- Chao Ren Xiao Ma Yi (超人小蚂蚁)
- Nian Shou Lu La Hui Jia Le (年狩鲁拉回家了)
P.S. As I wrote about these books, I realized that this is the first posting I've written in which I own all the books. The other postings have been a mixture of books I own and books I've borrowed from the library. There is a different feeling, I have to admit. The characters in the books we own have become part of our family. Perhaps some of them are like the shy cats whom you see once in a while. However, we know they're available whenever we're home, and we've internalized the favorite characters so that they're always with us. If we start building this type of relationship with characters in a library book, it's time we look really hard about how to buy that book.
Some more favorites
Zui Hao Chi de Dan Gao (最好吃的蛋糕) ISBN: 9787539420059. Don't read this to your kids if they're hungry (or if you're hungry yourself)! Even the obvious title "The most delicious cake" does not capture all the types of cakes, desserts, donuts, etc. that come alive in the fabulous illustration and charming plot. The forest is having its annual cake competition, and each group of animals works together to create a cake to be judged by the Lion. The Lion (cutely drawn, not scary at all) takes a bite of the rabbits' cake, and immediately announces this as the winner. The other animals start complaining, and their complaints turn into childish bashing of one another's cake. One thing leads to another, and a cake fight eventually takes place. During the commotion, the elephant knocks over the table on which all the cakes were placed. There is a moment of sadness and despair as the animals watch the products of their hard work mangled on the ground. Before my sensitive kids start to worry too much, the cheerful Lion emerges from this mountain of mangled cakes, announcing that he's just had a bite of the best cake ever. So the best cake is one that combines everyone's cake (huh?) and effort (ah ha). The last page shows all the animals building a large cake together. The meticulous details of the illustration are precious. I can stare at this page many times and still find something new. The harmonious and happy animals working together certainly teach kids about teamwork and all that good stuff, but not without some humorous realism (the hippo secretly takes a bite of the cream while the bear stands on him to place chocolate on the cake). This is a book I have enjoyed as much as my kids have.
Wo Xiang Fei (我想飞) ISBN: 9787539420035. As opposed to the last book I described (Zui Hao Chi de Dan Gao), this is a book my boys both love, but I have been partial to it. Don't get me wrong - it's still a great children's book. Perhaps the reason is because I no longer dream of flying whereas I can still dream of a delicious cake. "Wo Xiang Fei" stars an overweight dragon Duo-Te (did he come from the land of the best cake?) who cannot fly. His little mouse friend encourages him to eat less (unsuccessful) and exercise every day (somewhat successful). One day, Duo-Te's anorexic friends get scooped up and trapped by a strong wind. Without thinking much, Duo-Te immediately flew over to save them, and it was at that moment that everyone realized he can fly. Yes, they have a party for him - an obligatory ending to this plot. I'd like to think the boys are getting the main messages including the importance of friendship, the benefits of exercising, the necessity of working to achieve your goal, etc. But I think what they really learn at the end of the day is - whenever something good happens, you have to celebrate with a party and lots of cupcakes.
Xiao Qi E Yao Xue Fei (小企鵝要学飞) ISBN: 9787883073444. Along the lines of flying, this is a book I much prefer over the last one I described (Wo Xiang Fei). Fortunately my boys also love this book; unfortunately we just had to return it to the library. Jason still asks for it though, so I may need to somehow get a hold of a permanent copy. This book also comes with a CD on which the story is read on one track, and some more background on penguins is given on the other track. A little penguin Qi-Qi is frustrated that he can't fly like his friend Pi-Pi (a type of bird... the English for this species escapes me). Pi-Pi first guesses it's because Qi-Qi is too skinny. Qi-Qi says, " I was born like this. Have you ever seen a penguin as skinny as a stick?" (with an illustration of a bizarre-looking stick-like penguin which always makes my boys laugh). Pi-Pi does not give up, and equips Qi-Qi with lots of leaves to bulk up his wings. Qi-Qi jumps, only to fall immediately into the water. Now the scary part happens - a seal sneaks behind Qi-Qi and almost eats him. A couple of well-written sentences describing the stressful chase almost turned Calvin away from this book completely. I had to skip these a few times in the beginning to assure Calvin that Qi-Qi always ends up fine. Now, Qi-Qi realizes he is really good at swimming, and really enjoys it. He no longer feels sorry for himself because he cannot fly. After this illustrated part of the story ends, there are a few pages describing these penguins in more detail than my kids can currently handle. However, they are extremely excited to see the pictures of real baby and adult penguins on these pages. We call them "the real Qi-Qi" or "the real Qi-Qi's mom & dad". We were really lucky to have found this book at the library - I miss it too.
Wo Xiang Fei (我想飞) ISBN: 9787539420035. As opposed to the last book I described (Zui Hao Chi de Dan Gao), this is a book my boys both love, but I have been partial to it. Don't get me wrong - it's still a great children's book. Perhaps the reason is because I no longer dream of flying whereas I can still dream of a delicious cake. "Wo Xiang Fei" stars an overweight dragon Duo-Te (did he come from the land of the best cake?) who cannot fly. His little mouse friend encourages him to eat less (unsuccessful) and exercise every day (somewhat successful). One day, Duo-Te's anorexic friends get scooped up and trapped by a strong wind. Without thinking much, Duo-Te immediately flew over to save them, and it was at that moment that everyone realized he can fly. Yes, they have a party for him - an obligatory ending to this plot. I'd like to think the boys are getting the main messages including the importance of friendship, the benefits of exercising, the necessity of working to achieve your goal, etc. But I think what they really learn at the end of the day is - whenever something good happens, you have to celebrate with a party and lots of cupcakes.
Xiao Qi E Yao Xue Fei (小企鵝要学飞) ISBN: 9787883073444. Along the lines of flying, this is a book I much prefer over the last one I described (Wo Xiang Fei). Fortunately my boys also love this book; unfortunately we just had to return it to the library. Jason still asks for it though, so I may need to somehow get a hold of a permanent copy. This book also comes with a CD on which the story is read on one track, and some more background on penguins is given on the other track. A little penguin Qi-Qi is frustrated that he can't fly like his friend Pi-Pi (a type of bird... the English for this species escapes me). Pi-Pi first guesses it's because Qi-Qi is too skinny. Qi-Qi says, " I was born like this. Have you ever seen a penguin as skinny as a stick?" (with an illustration of a bizarre-looking stick-like penguin which always makes my boys laugh). Pi-Pi does not give up, and equips Qi-Qi with lots of leaves to bulk up his wings. Qi-Qi jumps, only to fall immediately into the water. Now the scary part happens - a seal sneaks behind Qi-Qi and almost eats him. A couple of well-written sentences describing the stressful chase almost turned Calvin away from this book completely. I had to skip these a few times in the beginning to assure Calvin that Qi-Qi always ends up fine. Now, Qi-Qi realizes he is really good at swimming, and really enjoys it. He no longer feels sorry for himself because he cannot fly. After this illustrated part of the story ends, there are a few pages describing these penguins in more detail than my kids can currently handle. However, they are extremely excited to see the pictures of real baby and adult penguins on these pages. We call them "the real Qi-Qi" or "the real Qi-Qi's mom & dad". We were really lucky to have found this book at the library - I miss it too.
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