By: Yoshio Nakae (Author), Noriko Ueno (Illustrator), 童立方 (Translator)
Originally Published in: Japan
Format: Paperback
Language: Simplified Chinese
Pages per book: 32
Lines per page: 1-4

可爱的鼠小弟 (Kě'ài de shǔ xiǎodì) Little Brother Mouse learns about sharing, having fun and solving problems with his adorable animal friends. These darling stories make children giggle and come back for more reading!

The mostly black and white pencil sketch illustrations are simple yet vivid and expressive. The relatively large blank space on the pages helps to focus children's attention on the text and the main characters. The Chinese translation is very well done!

The amount of text on each page varies between 1 word and 4 short lines. Phrases and sentence structures are simple and repetitive, providing young children an effective, rewarding learning-to-read experience. 

If your child is ready to recognize sight words, point your finger at each character as you read the stories. You may be surprised by how quickly your child will recognize some of those seemingly complicated Chinese characters! Your child may recognize an entire book and get to experience her first proud "I can read a book" moment with this Little Brother Mouse Series 可爱的鼠小弟!        

For 40 years, this original Japanese classic series has been loved by generations of children. The Little Brother Mouse is highly recommended by educators and parents of Chinese learning children. Want to read about how other moms use this series to teach their children to read? Check Betty Choi's book review here; and JoJo co-founder Christine Yang's reading tips here. 

The books:

《鼠小弟的小背心》(Shǔ xiǎo dì de xiǎo bèi xīn) Little Brother Mouse's Vest
《想吃苹果的鼠小弟》(Xiǎng chī píng guǒ de shǔ xiǎo dì) Little Brother Mouse Craves Apples
《鼠小弟的又一件背心》(Shǔ xiǎo dì de yòu yī jiàn bèi xīn) Little Brother Mouse's other Vest
《鼠小弟和鼠小妹》(Shǔ xiǎo dì hé shǔ xiǎo mèi) Little Brother Mouse and Little Sister Mouse
《鼠小弟，鼠小弟》(Shǔ xiǎo dì, shǔ xiǎo dì) Little Brother Mouse, Little Brother Mouse
《又来了！鼠小弟的小背心》(Yòu lái le! Shǔ xiǎo dì de xiǎo bèi xīn) Little Brother Mouse's Vest Strikes Again
《鼠小弟的生日》(Shǔ xiǎo dì de shēng rì) Little Brother Mouse's Birthday
《打破杯子的鼠小弟》(Dǎpò bēi zi de shǔ xiǎo dì) Little Mouse Brother Broke the Mug
《鼠小弟和大象哥哥》(Shǔ xiǎo dì hé dà xiàng gē gē) Little Brother Mouse and Big Brother Elephant 
《鼠小弟荡秋千》(Shǔ xiǎo dì dàng qiū qiān) Little Brother Mouse On the Swing
《鼠小弟和音乐会》(Shǔ xiǎo dì hé yīn yuè huì) Little Brother Mouse and the Concert
《换换吧！鼠小弟的小背心》(Huàn huàn ba! Shǔ xiǎo dì de xiǎo bèi xīn) Little Brother Mouse Trades His Vest

*PLEASE NOTE: LUKA does NOT read these books in Chinese* 

Is my child ready for this set?

"Read to me":
Ages 0+ will enjoy having these books read to them either by Luka® or a caregiver.

"Read by myself":
The limited text per page and the prevalence of common language make it a good "bridge book" for readers. The involved plot and detailed illustrations will capture the interest of experienced readers ages 3+. 

Happy learning!