We might learn Mandarin for a year sometime in the future (for our homeschooling we're doing some fairly informal language learning, having begun with German), in which case I'll borrow this book from the library again. It's a nice little story, with the addition of Chinese characters outlined on the pictures for an assortment of basic vocabulary. It feels a little forced at times, and wasn't a book I particularly enjoyed reading aloud, but the idea is a good one. And, as I said, I can see myself using the book again. We teamed up with Lin and her pet dragon today at Pretend City. This duo took us on a journey of learning and discovery! When Lin’s dragon mysteriously disappears, she sets off on a journey to find her best friend while we set off on a journey of learning and discovery of the Chinese language. It was so cool how the author was able to take the symbols of the story and add them to the pictures. When you are able to identify symbols with pictures and meanings, learning becomes so much easier and a lot more fun! This book had friendship, adventure and culture! We loved it!
What do You think about Der Kleine Drache (2000)?
Cute, imaginative, and I daresay very effective method for learning some Chinese characters.
—jessica
This book could serve as a great introduction to common Chinese characters.
—Jennifer
Beautiful art that uses Chinese characters to help tell a wonderful story.
—Caitlin
great read for gr1 and up. includes chinese characters for draw and tell.
—maja
