What about National Geographic for babies and toddlers in Chinese? This 我的第一套自然认知书 (wǒ dí dì yī tào zì rán rèn zhī shū) 20-book Chinese set is a real treasure. It features over 300 stunning color photographs that capture the marvelous moments of mother nature. 

The topics are mammals, insects and rivers, yet the stories are crafted to relate to little children's daily lives:  just like us, lizards eat, crocodiles get mad and rivers run home. The conversational, flowing Chinese language in the book pulls little readers into a familiar yet magically new world of discovery. 

Photographs are a wonderful way, or a preferred way in Montessori teaching, to illustrate children's books. The Montessori belief is that young children, especially toddlers, learn best through realistic and concrete storytelling rather than fantastic, abstract storytelling.

Children are genuinely attracted to realistic pictures about their environment and the things they know.  Would this set become your child's favorite to read and read again? 

Books topics : 我的第一套自然认知书

《睡觉》(Shuì jiào) Sleeping 
《吃饭》(Chī fàn) Eating 
《你住在哪儿》(Nǐ zhù zài nǎ'er) Where Do You Live? 
《你在干什么》(Nǐ zài gàn shén me) What Are You Doing? 
《地底下有什么》(Dì dǐ xia yǒu shé me) What's Hidden Underground? 
《猜猜我是谁》(Cāi cāi wǒ shì shéi) Guess who I am! 
《各种各样的蛋》(Gè zhǒng gè yàng de dàn) All Sorts of Eggs. 
《小仓鼠》(Xiǎo cāng shǔ) The Little Hamsters
《快乐的小狗》(Kuài lè de xiǎo gǒu) The Happy Little Dogs
《鸟儿》(Niǎo er) Birds
《小小寄居蟹》(Xiǎo xiǎo jìjū xiè) The Little Hermit Crab
《独角仙》(Dú jiǎo xiān) The Rhinoceros Beetle 
《好玩的昆虫》(Hǎo wán de kūn chóng) The Playful Insects 
《金龟子的颜色》(Jīn guī zi de yán sè) Color of Beetles 
《藏猫猫的竹节虫》(Cáng māo māo de zhú jié chóng) Hide and Seek with Stick Insects
《你是昆虫吗》(Nǐ shì kūn chóng ma) Are You An Insect
《有趣的水果》(Yǒu qù de shuǐ guǒ) Interesting Fruits
《神奇的种子》(Shén qí de zhǒng zǐ) Magic Seeds 
《河水流啊流》(Hé shuǐ liú a liú) River Runs

Is my child ready for this set?

"Read to me":
Ages 3+ 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 3-5. 

Option to pair with Luka®:
Consider adding Luka®, the reading robot, to your order. Luka® reads 70,000 books in Mandarin Chinese! ​
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Set Luka® in front of the book, and it will read aloud any page your child turns to-- creating a unique, independent physical book reading experience even if your child isn't ready to read by themselves. Click to read our founders' personal review of Luka here.

Happy learning!