My Little Book of Chinese Words (Bilingual Edition) (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) [Paperback]

Catherine Louis (Illustrator), Shi Bo (Illustrator), MaryChris Bradley (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Gem-like linocuts combine with graceful calligraphy provide a fascinating introduction to Chinese writing.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—This handsome picture book focuses on the visual aspect of Chinese characters. Words are introduced on the verso with the modern Chinese character and a smaller ancient character in the upper left corner of the page, so one is immediately aware of the evolution of the visual form of the word. On the right, a full-page illustration is rendered in a way that echoes the strokes of the character. For example, the picture for the character "high" shows a pagodalike building similar to the form of the calligraphy. The words are grouped so that terms such as "see," "look at," and "ear" follow "eye," whose written character is part of these other related characters, indicating the relationship of the basic word to the others. The artwork is rich and colorful; these striking linotypes at times include in their design or as their frame what appears to be boldly patterned origami paper. In fact, the whole book is artistically satisfying: the design, the colors, the thoughtfulness of the visual presentation, and the square, thick shape just the right size for easy browsing. The book is, however, problematic in terms of its usefulness. Though the pinyin translation of the Chinese characters is given, no pronunciation guide is included. In addition, the pinyin doesn't show any indication of tones. For example, "tian" is the Chinese for both "field' and "sky," but nothing indicates that the pronunciation of the two words differs slightly but significantly. Overall, this is an attractive guide to understanding Chinese characters but not to understanding the spoken language.—Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA
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About the Author

In her life and in her work, China has had an enormous influence on Catherine Louis. Although she lives in Switzerland, a small piece of her heart has moved far away to the land of the dragon. Louis is also the author and illustrator of Liu and the Bird, published by North-South Books.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: NorthSouth Books; Bilingual edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English, Mandarin Chinese
• ISBN-10: 0735821747
• ISBN-13: 978-0735821743
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect book for the curious, February 24, 2009

By 

I. Chiu "globalpal" (Seattle, Washington, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Little Book of Chinese Words (Bilingual Edition) (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) (Paperback)

This little square book is perfect for the little hands with big curiosity. Pages are printed on heavy-stock paper for durability. On each spread, the Chinese character is juxtaposed with its former pictographic form on the left-side page with nicely illustrated wood block art on the right-side page. One almost doesn't need to look at the translated English word to know what each character's meaning is. There's also pinyin to help one to figure out the pronunciation. It kept my 5-year-old buried in the pages for three days!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pinyin does not include tones, August 13, 2010

By 

AmazonShopper "anonabcde" - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Little Book of Chinese Words (Bilingual Edition) (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) (Paperback)

Nice illustrations, but pronunciation does not include diacritical marks or any indication of tone, making it useless as a learning tool.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice for coffee table, but not a good learning tool, September 4, 2011

By 

JY Luh (Eureka, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Little Book of Chinese Words (Bilingual Edition) (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) (Paperback)

The book, although attractive, has several shortcomings:
1. The tones are totally omitted with the pinyin, making the learning of accurate pronunciation impossible
2. There is a blatant error in the character for spoon. The symbol used is actually the character for a knife.
3. The character for root is actually the symbol for origin or original.
4. The character for summit actually signifies the ending.

There are other errors in translation that do not reflect the spirit of each character.

It appears that the author did not consult with a native Chinese speaker prior to publishing this work. She may have actually consulted with someone of Japanese descent, thus the meanings aren't quite consistent with what the Chinese interpretation might be.