BoBo Bilingual Chinese-English Books & Game Set Review
Note: Thank you to SunBridge for providing samples to review. All opinions are my own.
Children learn languages in many ways, and some of the best ones are through reading and play. For parents and educators who are looking to teach Mandarin Chinese to children, the educational offerings from Sunbridge can help.
SunBridge, a company that seeks to make dual languages accessible and fun for kids, has created engaging bilingual products. Its two bilingual board books and playing cards game are written in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified), English, and Pinyin. Pinyin is the spelling out of Chinese phrases with letters from the English alphabet which can help when learning Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
The board books and playing cards game teach numbers, colors, and food vocabulary while celebrating the traditions of Chinese culture. All three products feature BoBo, an adorable red panda with a fun personality.
A resource activities page on the SunBridge website includes a coloring page, printable vocabulary sheet, and audio recording reading.
BoBo Loves Dumplings Board Book
Learning to count is one of the first things most kids learn to do, and BoBo Loves Dumplings is ideal for teaching kids how to count in Mandarin. This dual-language counting book follows hungry BoBo on his food adventure as he counts his meals.
Written in English, Chinese, and Pinyin, young readers will learn how to count in from 1 to 10 and learn food vocabulary. The board book features traditional foods such as fried rice, lobster noodles, soup dumplings, spring rolls, and more.
Bold, vibrant illustrations will capture kids’ attention and keep them engaged. And of course, BoBo the red panda is super cute and fun to read about! Thick, sturdy, high-gloss pages are easy to wipe clean and hard to rip while rounded corners won’t poke little hands. This book is ideal for children ages 1 to 6 years old.
To listen to an audio recording of BoBo Loves Dumplings, please visit the resources page at www.sunbridge.co.
Bobo’s Colorful Chinese New Year Board Book
Chinese New Year is the largest Chinese holiday, so of course, BoBo wants to celebrate it! BoBo’s Colorful Chinese New Year is a dual-language book of colors in English, Chinese, and Pinyin.
In the story, BoBo practices the traditions of Chinese New Year while teaching kids colors. BoBo makes sure to clean the house to sweep out bad luck and make room for good luck in the new year. He eats traditional foods like noodles, dumplings, and rice cakes. His grandparents give him red envelopes with lucky money, and fireworks light up the nighttime sky. These are just a few of the many delightful traditions covered in the book.
Full-color illustrations bring BoBo’s activities to life. The high-quality board book with thick, glossy pages is durable and easy for little hands to handle. BoBo’s Colorful Chinese New Year is ideal for children ages 1 to 6 years old.
Let’s Count and Eat with Bobo! Dual Language Playing Card Game
Reinforce Mandarin learning with the Let’s Count & Eat With Bobo! Dual Language Playing Card Game. The game set includes 40 large, glossy, playing cards, one food vocabulary card, and one booklet with instructions and game ideas. All cards are in English, Chinese, and Pinyin.
The game set fosters bilingual counting and number recognition, knowledge of food vocabulary, communication, and collaboration. The playing cards can double as flashcards in addition to playing games such as Go Fish, Memory, and more.
The high-quality cards and sturdy box they come in minimize the chances that little hands will damage them. This game set will hold up against repeated use, ensuring that learning can continue for many years to come.
The Let’s Count & Eat With Bobo! Dual Language Playing Card Game is an essential companion to the BoBo Loves Dumplings and BoBo’s Colorful Chinese New Year board books.
Where to Purchase
The BoBo board books and playing card game are ideal gifts for baby showers, birthdays, holidays, or bilingual learning. Find all three items on the SunBridge website store at www.SunBridge.co. You can also find these products on the SunBridge store page on Amazon.
How to Enter the BoBo Chinese-English Books & Game Set Giveaway [CLOSED]
One lucky reader will win the prize set which includes the books BoBo Loves Dumplings and BoBo’s Colorful Chinese New Year, in addition to the Let’s Count & Eat With BoBo playing card game. Please enter the giveaway via the entry form below. The giveaway is open to entrants aged 18+ years old with a U.S. mailing address (no P.O. Boxes please). Good luck!
About the Authors
Authors Melissa Miao and Charlotte Cheng both grew up as American Born Chinese (ABCs), speaking Mandarin with their families and ordering delicious food at countless restaurants and night markets. Through the years, they attended Stanford together, worked as volunteers with children with disabilities, had kids of their own, and exchanged parenting tips. With young kids, Melissa and Charlotte began to see the value of reading to their kids at an early age in both Mandarin and English. However, they needed a book that could be read in a dual language family and in Pinyin.
That’s when Melissa and Charlotte created BoBo Loves Dumplings: an engaging counting board book written in Mandarin, English, and Pinyin. More importantly, it’s a book that celebrates the delicious foods that Melissa and Charlotte enjoyed when they grew up: from fried rice to lobster noodles to soup dumplings.
Melissa Miao graduated from Stanford and Harvard and has a career in healthcare technology. She has two young children who attend a Mandarin immersion school and love their teachers and friends there. The family can often be found running around outdoors and hiking and exploring. All of that energy usually comes from a large supply of dumplings, boba, and shaved ice.
Charlotte Cheng is a curriculum designer and children’s book illustrator. She graduated from Stanford University with a Masters in Education. She has worked at a local Mandarin immersion school and at companies such as Disney, LeapFrog, and Wonder Workshop. Charlotte likes to visit her family in Taiwan where she fills her suitcase with picture books. Charlotte has a toddler whose first words included “Boba.” Website: charlotte.art
