Last year after completing 四五快读, my daughter and I read the 青蛙和蟾蜍 Frog and Toad books in simplified Chinese. At that time, my daughter was developing more stamina for longer reading passages, and these early chapter (bridge) books were perfect for reading practice.
Recently, we revisited the Chinese Frog and Toad books and enjoyed them even more! This time around, my daughter’s comprehension has improved, and her reading is much more fluid.
青蛙和蟾蜍 Frog and Toad Chinese (4 volumes)
Author: 艾諾 洛貝爾 (Arnold Lobel)
Where to Buy (*please check carefully whether the stores sell the books individually or as a set):
This fictional series consists were originally written in English by the famous Arnold Lobel. This set comes with 4 books with 5 stories (chapters) each. The simplified version is about 64 pages per book with no Pinyin or English; on the other hand, the traditional Chinese version has Zhuyin support. Relatively large print is clearly visible against a white background and paired with neutral-toned but expressive illustrations.
Although Frog and Toad are best friends, they are two very different characters. Throughout the stories, their companionship and experiences serve as a metaphor for human relationships. Frog is the responsible, practical friend while Toad is adventurous and emotional. However, they give each other balance, and learn from each other through routine events like joking around, storytelling, swimming with friends, and making to-do lists.
How we are reading the Chinese Frog and Toad books
As mentioned previously, these books are early chapter books, which bridge young readers to future chapter books and eventually novels. In contrast to leveled readers, my daughter reads these in any order that she wishes.
My 5-year-old’s daughter’s experience
Last year, my daughter knew about 800 Chinese characters when she read the series. Currently, my daughter is 5-years-old. She knows over 1000 Chinese characters and was able to read most words in these books.
Compared to Little Bear Bridge Books in Chinese, this series is slightly more challenging as there not as much repetition compared to the Little Bear books.
However, the variety in sentence structure is one of the reasons this series was more captivating for my daughter! In addition, the stories are really funny, and she has a hard time putting the book down!
My 2-year-old son’s preliminary experience
Although my 2-year-old doesn’t understand the plot yet, he enjoys animal stories and will sit still and listen through some of these stories with his sister.
My experience with Frog and Toad books as an adult Chinese learner
As my Chinese reading skills are gradually catching up to my daughter’s, I can now enjoy the humor and charm of the stories with my daughter.
Last year, I was so dependent on Pinyin that my daughter led the way with these books.
This time, I only have to bug my daughter or check my dictionary for a few words here and there.
Inside the 青蛙和蟾蜍 Frog and Toad Chinese Bridge Books
Here is a peek at some of the 青蛙和蟾蜍 Frog and Toad Chinese stories.
Periodically, I leave a book open on this bookstand from Amazon so that the book catches my daughter’s eye and thus motivate her to pick it up!
In summary, I highly recommend the endearing Frog and Toad series for budding readers!
RELATED CHINESE BOOKS FOR KIDS
Ximalaya FM has thousands of Chinese stories for children for free, and we listen to our favorites almost everyday! Since the entire website and app is in Chinese, please refer to this guide if you cannot read Chinese.
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