iSuper Science Books: Nonfiction Chinese Books for Kids

I’m very excited to share the Chinese iSuper Science series 中文小博士 with you today!  Both of my kids (18-month-old son and 4.5-year-old daughter) love to look at the beautiful photographs, and the text is easy to read!  We have levels 1 and 2, and they are perfect for children (and adults!) who are learning Chinese.  When you see the examples of what’s included in the series, you’ll see why we love them so much!  Information about where to buy is included at the end of the post.

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Review of iSuper Science Books

iSuper Chinese Little Ph.D. Chinese Teaching Resources is a series of science books for elementary school students.  The books were written for American Mandarin immersion programs, but they are perfect for any child learning Chinese.  The series has a total of 6 levels; each level has 3 sets, and each set includes 4 books.  Each set has a teacher companion, but the teacher version is not widely available.  Levels 4-5 have not been published yet.

The topics of the science books are common and relevant to children’s interests.  Level 1 gives an overview of fish life, fabrics, trees.  The selected topics seem random to me, but my daughter found each of the books to be fascinating!  Level 2 is a little broader and reviews Earth Structure, Insects, and matter.

The text in the level 1 books are in simplified Chinese only.  However, if you cannot read Chinese, don’t worry!  Since each page has few words, adding pinyin with Post-It note tape should not be too overwhelming.  Level 2 books have both simplified Chinese and pinyin, but the Chinese characters are large and stand out while the pinyin is in relatively small font.  As a non-fluent parent, these books provide an excellent opportunity to learn basic science words.  In addition, my daughter who currently reads ~800 Chinese characters can read most of the text independently.

The best part of these books are the beautiful photographs!  It’s so important for children to learn from REAL pictures.  (Read more about why here, here, and here).  The vast majority of the images are high definition snapshots of real objects, animals, and people!  Occasional illustrations are included.  Due to the high quality of the photographs, both of my kids are very interested in these books.  In fact, as an adult, I am impressed with the detail and am learning a lot with them!  It’s been years since I’ve looked at fish anatomy or the life cycle of a butterfly, and there is so much to discuss and explore!

The major downside of these books is the cost!  The iSuper Science books are $28/set, but I am very happy with this purchase.  Although these books come with a teacher’s guide, I decided not to purchase them to save money ($30/set) and see what we could learn on our own.  The books alone give ideas on simple experiments that you can do with your kids, such as adding color to fabric, putting egg in vinegar, and melting ice, etc.

Book Titles, ISBN, and Sample Photos

Since there are so many books in this series, I have grouped the photos with the titles and ISBN so that you can review book details with the corresponding images.

iSuper Science Level 1 books

• Earth Science (Trees) 地球科学·树 ISBN 978-7-04-046344-6
  • This is a Tree 这是一棵树
  • Different Species of Trees 树的种类
  • An Apple Tree 一棵苹果树
  • Trees are Important 树木很重要

• Physical Science (Textile Materials) 物理科学·纺织材料 ISBN 978-7-04-044879-5
  
  • Objects Are Different 物品各有不同
  • Textile Materials 纺织材料
  • Making Textile 做纺织品
  • Textile Materials and Water 纺织材料和水

Here’s a fun color transfer experiment that we did with the fabric books!

A post shared by Betty ☼ CHALK (@chalkacademy) on Apr 27, 2018 at 5:50pm PDT

• Life Science (Fish) 生命科学·鱼 ISBN 978-7-04-044884-9
  
  • Structure of Fish 鱼的结构
  • Life of Fish 鱼的生活
  • Life of Goldfish 金鱼的生活
  • Fish and Schools of Fish 鱼和鱼群

Here’s a fun fish anatomy craft that we did with the fish books!

iSuper Science Level 2 Books

• Earth Science (Earth Structure) 地球科学 ISBN 978-7-04-048621-6
  
  • Rocks 岩石
  • Ores and Fossils 矿石和化石
  • Soil 土壤
  • Water and the Earth 水和地球

• Life Science (Butterflies and Moths) 生命科学 ISBN 978-7-04-048622-3
  
  • Organism-Insects 生物-昆虫
  • Butterflies and Moths 蝴蝶和飞蛾
  • The Life Circle 生命周期
  • Observe the Growth of Insects 观察昆虫成长

• Physical Science (Matter) 物理科学 978-7-04-048623-0
  
  • Matter and Property 物质和属性
  • The Classification of Matter 物质的分类
  • The Property of Water 水的特性
  • The Features of Matter 物质的特性

Where to buy iSuper Science Chinese books for kids:

• iSuper Science Level 1 Books:
  • China Sprout
  • More Fun Chinese (An account is required for this website)
  • Cypress Books
  • TaoBao
• iSuper Science Level 1 Teacher’s Guide
  • China Sprout
  • Purple Culture (This link has photo examples of the teacher’s guide)
  • TaoBao
• iSuper Science Level 2 Books:
  • China Sprout
  • More Fun Chinese (An account is required for this website)
  • Cypress Books
  • TaoBao
• iSuper Science Level 3 Books:
  • China Sprout

You can see more photos of the books:

• In my video on Facebook
• At China Sprout
• In this pdf (click here to download) from More Fun Chinese.

In summary, I highly recommend these Chinese science books to all young children!

If you’re looking for traditional Chinese books similar to this series, check out the following:

• 海洋小百科
• 幼幼小百科(套)4冊

Where to buy Chinese books for kids

For more Chinese book recommendations for kids, please visit and bookmark this link of our favorite books!  Every week, I will be adding book reviews to this website!

If you’re wondering where to buy Chinese books for children, please click here for a list of the most popular online bookstores!

Chinese audiobooks for kids

For free Chinese audiobooks for children, check out:

• Free Chinese Audiobooks for Children on Ximalaya 喜马拉雅
• How to Use Ximalaya FM When You Can’t Read Chinese

Tips on creating a Chinese learning environment at home

• Teach Your Child a Second Language at Home with 5 Key Steps
• Raising Multilingual Children as a Non-Fluent Parent: 7 Lessons Learned in 2018
• How To Get Your Child To Speak the Minority Language
• Encourage A Child to Love and Speak the Minority Language with 5 Strategies
• How to Find a Foreign Language Teacher for Your Child
• 5 Reasons Books are the Best Gifts for Multilingual Kids

Teaching kids how to read Chinese

• When and How to Introduce Chinese Characters to Kids?
• 5 Basic Tips for Memorizing Chinese Characters
• 10 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Read
• Create a Print-Rich Environment with Labels that Promote Literacy
• How I Taught My Child 1000+ Chinese Characters as a Non-Fluent Speaker
• When Should My Child Learn Hanyu Pinyin?

Bilingual English and Chinese Facebook Parent Group

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, and I’ll try my best to answer them!  Or better yet, ask other parents in our Facebook group!  Montessori-inspired Kids Learning Chinese and English is a community of parents worldwide who are excited to share bilingual book recommendations, Montessori tips, and learning materials!

Happy reading, friends!