Product Description

Reading basic Chinese is the subject of this manual. It is designed for beginning readers. Chinese writing, pronunciation and vocabulary are all covered.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #393451 in Books
• Published on: 1989-12-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

From the Inside Flap

About the Author
Lee Cooper is the author of several popular and successful books on language arts and folklore for children, including Fun with Spanish, Fun with French, Fun with Italian, and Fun with German. An award-winning writer, Lee Cooper is listed in Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Contemporary Authors, and the Directory of British and American Writers. Her home is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Perfect Beginner Book
I was looking for a book to get me started learning Chinese, and this one was the least intimating of all the ones I found. It provides a good foundation for understanding how characters are drawn, gives instructions on reading multiple lines of characters, and introduces some basic vocabulary. The pictures are well-drawn and provide a little humor and entertainment while you try to learn the characters. It includes a story to help you test your newly-learned language skills.

I would recommend this to anyone who plans to start learning Chinese, and doesn't want a heavy, overwhelming textbook-type of study guide. It would also be great for children.

A little too simplistic
This is a great book for small children, but not for anyone who cares to really learn Chinese. It is very interesting with some simple words and builds both characters and sentences. I thought is was helpful in gaining an understanding of how the language works and how characters are related. My biggest complaint is only the very small size and the small number of words you actually learn. If you want to get a flavor of Chinese and learn about 50 words, it's OK; for anything more serious, it is too simple.

My 4 year old loves it!
My 4 yr old son wanted to learn Chinese. I can't remember why. We put him in Chinese school. The first half is writing Chinese. The second half is story and song time. My son reads and when he realized that the pictures wouldn't help him sound out the words, he got frustrated and wouldn't write in class or at home.

I found this book and the problem's solved. He really liked the story time in class and now he "sees" that each character in Chinese is a story. He loves writing Chinese now. I wish Lee Cooper had written a whole series. That is how helpfull this little book is. I don't speak Chinese and can't help my son with his homework. But I feel like I can help him with his writing now.

The 6" X 9" (-ish) book has 39 pages. 32 characters are covered and a few are combination characters. Right to left reading is covered. Three illustrated stories and a few picture stories are included. The illustrations are pencil drawings with an old fashion look. My son's favorite story is "The Big Man". The words "big", "man", and "too", are all related. The book lets you see how the characters have "root" characters inside them. This book made me feel like learning chinese could even happen for me. It also made me "see" the stories behind the characters. Now I can remember the characters better. They aren't just random lines. They are beautiful picture stories.

I got my copy for $6.95 at the Borders store.