I know I’ve mentioned this a couple of times before, but the twins really have quite different tastes in books from N when he was their age, so I’ve been having the (happy) problem of getting more books for the twins. They don’t have the patience to sit through lengthy stories, and show a clear preference for interactive books, such as lift-the-flap books, puppet books, and sound books. In fact, they’ve played with some of their sound books so much that I’ve had to change the batteries in those books twice! That has definitely never happened with N before, and to be honest, the music and sounds from those books can get on my nerves when I’m forced to listen to them repeatedly. The twins don’t get much exposure to Chinese, since we speak in English at home, and I hardly ever remember to use Mandarin when I’m talking to them. They still play a lot with their copies of 宝宝的第一本拼图书 but aren’t very keen when I try to read the Chinese descriptions of the animals to them.
I actually didn’t intend to let them play with 自然和动物 and 城市和生活 yet, as Didi loves tearing the flaps off, and I felt that they weren’t ready to learn the contents of these two sound books, but they discovered them on the bookshelf one day, and pulled them out on their own. They’ve been very busy pressing the sound buttons almost daily since then, although I’ve noticed that they prefer certain sounds, and press those repeatedly, until I direct them to another button. Each book has 48 buttons, so at least there’s a wide variety for them to explore.
自然和动物 and 城市和生活
自然和动物 is about the different types of animals, and I really like the cute illustrations. I also like that there are photographs of the animals or objects underneath the flaps with the illustrations, so that children can see what it looks like in real life.
The twins like looking for their favourite animals, pressing the buttons, and mimicking their sounds, so I guess it’s a fun way for them to learn. They still use English to identify the animals, but I’m trying to be more conscientious about naming the animals in Mandarin, and I think they’re slowly becoming familiar with some names.
自然和动物
城市和生活 is perfect for children who love vehicles, and also includes information on a classroom, home, and orchestra. It’s a really good way for everyone (parents included) to learn how to identify the Mandarin terms used in various “city” settings. The twins love dancing to the music played by the musical instruments in the orchestra, and mimicking the sounds of the vehicles.
城市和生活
Reading with KorKor
What’s underneath this flap?
What sound is that? I think it’s coming from your book!
I wonder what sound this button makes.
Press press press. Let’s see who can make the most noise!
There’s a lot to be learnt from these two sound books, and although the twins aren’t very interested in the text underneath the flaps at the moment, I read bits of them to all three kids whenever they’re interacting with these books. It’s about exposing them to the language, and hopefully, they’ll be better able to appreciate the information when they’re a bit older.
Happy reading!
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