This is the first book of the Mandarin Immersion Adventure series, and I LOVED it! It is a beautiful story about friendship, learning and diversity - told in English, Chinese and Pinyin (pronunciation) - set in a Mandarin immersion school. My son is in a Mandarin immersion Saturday school and it was so nice to find a story in this setting. My only wish is that this book was around when he started in first grade!
In this story, 2 little boys, one excited (Ethan) and one nervous (Dean), were just starting first grade at the immersion school in LA. They become fast and best friends and discover that they have lots in common and that even their moms talk the same way – they both say things like “study hard” – just like I do! Haha! I appreciate how the boys and their parents discuss why it’s good for them to learn Mandarin - it reinforces what I try to tell my son all the time! It was great having him read this book!
Midway through the story, Dean learns that they are moving! Oh no! Dean does not want to leave Ethan, so he researches and comes up with an ingenious proposal for him and Ethan to be able to spend the summer together. They called their plan T.L. See for Travel, Learn and See Ethan! I don’t want to give away the ending so you will have to read the book to find out their plan!
This story reminds me of when my son first started Chinese school. I was more nervous that he was! But he made a friend the very first day (they are still friends and are still in Saturday immersion school together) just like Ethan and Dean! Having a friend makes school so much more enjoyable!
Another thing that’s great about this book is the underlying diversity and multicultural aspect of it. Even though Ethan and Dean come from different race/ethnic backgrounds (Ethan is black, and Dean is Chinese American), this is something they never even notice as they immediately become best buds. This is the way it should be and this book, assisted by its wonderful illustrations, reinforces that all kids, even if they look different, are basically the same – they all love to play, have fun and hang with their friends!
Finally, this book is special because very few books have English, Chinese and Pinyin so people like me, who can’t read Chinese (although I can speak some), can still pronounce the Chinese by reading the Pinyin. Being able to read the Pinyin helps build your Chinese vocabulary, and seeing the characters with the Pinyin helps you learn to read those Chinese characters. Furthermore, of the few books which do have both Chinese and Pinyin that I have seen, they are more instructional and don’t tell an interesting and relatable story, like this one. I liked this book so much that I am off to read the next one in this series!
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
All 3 for you in this series
See full series
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
A Friendship Forms
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
First Day GittersThe first day of school can be scary. Your heart may be racing, but is that feeling excitement or nerves? |
Common InterestsMaking friends is easier when you discover you have common interests! Dean and Ethan learn they love building blocks. |
Best Buddies!Dean and Ethan become inseparable, even after their teacher tries to move them away from each other . |
Separation AnxietyWhen the duo learns they might get separated, they form a plan to see each other. Will they be able to convince their parents? |
Features
Not fluent in Mandarin? No problem! Find a free narration of TLSee Your Friends on www.EdnaMa.com narrated by native speaker, Linda Yi of Panda Cub Podcast. There, you will hear the story come to life with digitally mastered audio narration.
Media Moments
Sparking a Passion for Travel and Foreign Language
As described by LA Parent magazine, "Each page is written in English and Mandarin (simplified characters and pinyin) side-by-side, accompanied by beautiful illustrations to bring the language to life and make it easy and fun for children to sharpen their Mandarin skills."
Join this trio of children and journey without packing your suitcases and learn more about Shanghai and the Great Wall.
The Joy of Learning Through Stories
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
A Journey of a thousand Steps….TLSee Books are an introduction to those learning Mandarin but also helps build on readers’ fluency and character recognition by having the presence of both simplified Chinese characters and Pinyin. |
Learn with StoriesHow far would you go if your best friend moved away? Find out what Dean and Ethan plan when Dean’s family plans to move. Learning language through stories and illustrations, helps young learners to solidify understanding through context. |
Global CitizensFoster curiosity with the emphasis in traveling while facilitating Mandarin reading independence. The stories make language-learning fun while exploring new sights including Shanghai and The Great Wall. |
TLSee
Edna's stories celebrate friendship and cultural diversity.
This unique format with both English and Mandarin Chinese (Characters and Pinyin) appear side-by-side on each page. This layout facilitates language acquisition. A free bilingual narration for a read along is available at www.EdnaMa.com.
Behind the Book
About the Author
Edna is a physician anesthesiologist and mom, who was motivated to write a bilingual Chinese children’s book, inspired by her son’s friendship.
Although she is not a native speaker of Mandarin, she wanted to read to her children in Mandarin. She found a limited selection of books for this age group so she created them. These stories include English and Mandarin with pin yin to facilitate different reading levels.
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Reviews with images
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
Such an excellent book with a wonderful story! The Illustrations are awesome! It really is difficult to find such well rounded bilingual books like this nowadays! Will be on the look out for more!!
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Susanne
Travel Learn And See Your Friends Eng&simpChinese
Reviewed in Germany on December 19, 2022