As I’m half-Chinese (and can barely speak any of the language, other than to count to ten and say things like “thank you”) and we’re about to have baby, Chris Lin’s Mandy and Pandy Say “Ni Hao Ma?” sounded intriguing to me. I’d like my kid to know at least a little bit of Chinese (even though most of my family speaks Cantonese and the official language that you find most things in is Mandarin).

This board book is designed to introduce some basic Chinese to children (and parents). I could also see it being used as a communication tool between English-speaking parents and their adopted Chinese children. “Ni Hao Ma,” by the way, means “How are you?” (yay, one of the few terms I knew ahead of time).

Mandy and Pandy carry on simple conversations and experience some adventures with family and friends. Each phrase is displayed in English, then Chinese, and then phonetically so you can attempt to pronounce it (and, if you’re having trouble with some of the nuances of the words, there’s a CD audio book that accompanies the board book – very handy).

Chinese is not an easy language for outsiders to pick up, but this book will teach you some basics. I found most of the phrases and words to be useful and the kinds of things you could use in everyday life, except for the page that basically lists the names of Mandy’s friends (unless you happen to need to know how to give those particular names a Chinese pronunciation, I don’t see that it is very useful).

All in all, I’d say this book would be a useful tool in teaching a youngster some basic Chinese (whether the parent speaks any or not). The illustrations are also colorful and engaging, which would help keep a young child focused on the lesson at hand. You can learn more at mandyandpandy.com.

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