As Chinese New Year approaches (this Saturday, January 25th!), I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite Chinese/bilingual children’s books with you all. Today, I want to tell you all about Mina’s Scavenger Hunt, part of a series written by Katrina Liu and illustrated by Rosalia Destarisa.
What kid doesn’t love a scavenger hunt? Well, in this delightful bilingual story, Mina’s mommy gives her a list of clues in English and Chinese, and adorable little Mina and her puppy go on a hunt for treasure! This is a super cute beautifully illustrated story in English, Chinese and Pinyin pronunciation – great for learning Chinese vocabulary and reading.
It’s tough finding entertaining stories written in English, Chinese and Pinyin which will keep a child’s attention. That’s why this book is so great – it’s fun and relatable! All kids will understand the joy of a scavenger hunt! And, because the Pinyin pronunciation is directly under the Chinese translation (which is under the English), even if you can’t read the Chinese characters, you can still pronounce the Chinese words and understand what you are reading! This is great for kids learning Mandarin (and their parents who may not be literate in Chinese). Such a clever way to teach/reinforce everyday words and phrases like colors, adjectives and common objects! And for kids who are not learning Mandarin, this is a fun way to expose little ones to a new language. There’s even a free audio reading in Mandarin so you can check your pronunciation! How cool is that!
Finally, I love that the author bases her stories on her daughter (the real Mina) who was the inspiration for this series of wonderful Mina books! She couldn’t find the books that she wanted, so she wrote her own. Sound familiar? 😁
If you would like to buy or see more about this book, you can find it at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZHQ1HYT/