Who would love this: Parents looking for engaging Mandarin-learning activities for bilingual kids
“My First Mandarin Busy Book” by Mandarin Prodigies is designed to captivate young learners while introducing them to Mandarin in a fun way. Targeting families with a bilingual background, this book is a rare find in the Australian market.
Why I love ❤️ it:
(1) 15 Hands-On Activities In Simplified Mandarin
This busy book offers a rich variety of 15 hands-on activities in simplified Mandarin. The book covers a mix of engaging exercises, including topics like animals, shapes, numbers, and the first 20 Chinese characters. We enjoy sorting waste and matching items to recycling bins (e.g., banana peel 香蕉皮 to “green waste” 堆肥), learning about measure words (like 一片面包, “a slice of bread”), grouping types of vegetable based on whether it’s a root vegetables (such as 土豆 potato) or those that grow above soil (such as 番茄 tomatoes). I especially LOVE the emotions page, where children match cute emoji symbols to corresponding Mandarin words. The book features 136 small, movable cards for children to match with the correct words.
(2) Mandarin Words With English Translations
The book features Mandarin words alongside English translations. For example, on the body parts page, children match Mandarin words like 头 (“head”) and 手 (“hand”) to their English equivalents. The activities also include instructions in English, such as “match the vehicles to the correct places,” and shape-matching exercises where kids pair a shape like “hexagon” with its Mandarin equivalent 六边形. At the back of the book, a vocabulary list provides simplified Mandarin words, their English translations, and pinyin.
(3) Spiral Binding In A4 Size
The book is thoughtfully designed with a spiral binding, allowing it to lay flat for easy use and exploration. Its A4 size is perfect for little hands, making it portable for travel. The pages are thick, glossy, and laminated for durability, securely bound with a sturdy round binder.
(4) Reusable Busy Book - Pieces With Velcro Dots
The best feature of this Busy Book is its reusability. Each piece is equipped with Velcro dots, allowing children to detach and reattach them countless times. The set also includes Velcro stickers for parents to attach to the book and small cards, along with extra sheets of replaceable Velcro components for long-lasting use.
# gifted in exchange for review
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