Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Walker and Ping Ping: The Great Wall

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I watched this DVD with my four-year old at his Aunt's house and he keeps asking to watch it again. Walker and Ping Ping are two everyday characters that will capture your child's curiosity about China and what it's like to experience living in a new place. This is a "must have" DVD if your family has an interest in China and its culture. The animation is inviting and the story line reflects learning a new language while having fun as the characters journey along The Great Wall of China. To add to the experience, parents and kids can check out the website reinforce the lessons learned. As a parent and educator, I'm looking forward to more episodes of Walker and Ping Ping.

I have children who have studied Mandarin, and two grandchildren who I hope will learn the language... I now know that there is a venue that will make that dream come true. I grew up bilingual in English and Mandarin, but I refused to speak it once we moved back to the US. Nevertheless, I encouraged two of our three children to study Mandarin in high school and college. Walker and Ping Ping will open a whole new world to children who grow up in the 21st century, and they will appreciate the importance of a global society and the value of understanding the interpersonal relationships that emerge from being able to speak another language. "Walker and Ping Ping" make this transition accessible and enjoyable to all generations, and I believe that it will help transend social and political issues in a way that will make the world a better place.

This cartoon is just absolutely great-- great sound track,story and animation.
Your kids will love it.

We live in Shanghai and were looking for a good way to help our children learn more Chinese (especially the 5 year old). I thought the video was well done and interesting. My kids enjoyed it. If the goal is to teach your child Chinese you need to be realistic about the amount of content on this video. This is a short video and I would say there are less than 20 words in the entire video. I had expected a lot more content. If they put 4 episodes on one DVD it would be a lot better.

I was concerned that my 3.5 yr old son, adopted from china, was beginning to reject chinese that I wanted him to learn. We have all sorts of "learn chinese" dvds, which he liked when he was younger, but lately has been rejecting chinese in favor of English.

Then I saw this dvd, which really was geared towards "big kids". And it is in english. I wasn't disappointed. Walter in the film has just moved to Hong Kong, and wants to learn Chinese. His enthusiasm for the language is infectious, and my son was soon repeating the chinese words as Walter learned them from his new friend Ping Ping, and exclaiming "chinese! I know it!"

In this video, Walter befriends Ping Ping and her grandfather, who introduces them to magical travel to faroff destinations, this time the Great Wall. We learn all sorts of facts (where is Hong Kong, how long is the Great Wall, it goes from the Gobi Desert to BoHai Sea, what is a chop...)... who knew there were camels in China? Between the search for the three symbols they must collect before going home, the camel, the imposing Great Wall guards, the sand storm, we forget we are learning, and just go along for a fascinating adventure in another land.

My son loved it so much, he must have watched it 10 times in three days! And no more "don't like chinese, mommy!" There could be more chinese introduced, but when it is, it is practical, in context, and natural. Ie we learn "wo hui shuo zhongwen" "I can speak chinese" which is repeated several times to make friends and open doors. It doesn't have that feeling of learning a vocabulary list (red, green, blue, one, two, three, mom, dad, big brother, big sister...) that plagues a lot of chinese learning materials. Some words we learn: pengyou, mama, zou ba, bu yao. New words are shown on screen in both characters (exciting flaming characters that go out in a puff of smoke!) and pinyin with tones. The words are repeatedly used within the story so that we gain confidence along with Walker.

The animation is beautiful and top quality, the songs are catchy (you will walk around singing the theme song), the story interesting enough for a 3 year old, school age or adults. And there are so many tastes of chinese language, culture, geography, artifacts that just whet one's appetite for more.

Fortunately the next episode" Walter and Ping Ping in the Chinese Market" is available. We can hardly wait for more. In the meantime, they have a companion website with recipes, crafts and intros to the characters.

After watching cartoon shows on TV that seem to have little to no educational value it is great to see a product like this that actually has something worthwhile for my four year old son to learn. There are very few kid shows that not only teach kids words from another language but also teach them about another culture. Great stuff....keep the shows coming!

I may be a little prejudiced, but you and your children will really love Walker and Ping Ping on the Great Wall. Can't wait for the next adventure.

Tammy Lin is amazing. I look forward to more work from her in the future!

He may be a little young to fully understand all that is happening in this DVD but my 1 1/2 year old is hooked! The characters are fun, the story line is well conceived and educational, the music is enjoyable and it is all set in front of a beautiful Chinese backdrop. Having grown up in Hong Kong, and having traveled in the area I found the DVD quite 'authentic'. Highly recommended.

Again, a great teaching tool for younger children (6-3) with just the right amount of learning the Mandarin phrases, while older children with some Mandarin will still enjoy the storyline and learn the culture of China. Well done!