Mandarin Chinese books for babies & toddlers in non-native households
Chinese books for babies and toddlers are not the easiest to come by if you live in the United States. If you want your child to be bilingual in Mandarin Chinese and English though, finding appropriate books is important. Check out my list of books for your littlest ones to start their exposure to Chinese language.
No time to read right now? Pin it or email it to yourself for later!
Read Chinese books to your baby
If you’re a non-native speaker or cannot read Chinese at all, it’s even more difficult to find books that will work for your family. However it is still possible, and extremely important if you hope for your child to be bilingual in Chinese and English. Reading to your child is the most effective tool to encourage language development.
I only have an elementary level grasp of Mandarin and my husband can speak but cannot read or write Chinese. Our acquisition and exposure is more helpful than nothing, however it is still challenging to find books that work for us. Typically I try to find books that are printed with Chinese characters, English and pinyin.
Pinyin for non-native Chinese speakers
Pinyin is the romanization system of Chinese that helps non-native Chinese speakers learn to read and pronounce Mandarin Chinese. It’s the most commonly used phonetic system for writing Mandarin Chinese using the Latin alphabet. Pinyin is hugely helpful for parents who read little to no Chinese as it should enable you to get through Mandarin Chinese books for babies and toddlers.
Below you’ll find a collection of Chinese books for babies and toddlers that our family has found engaging and helpful. We’ve been able to use these to help encourage bilingualism in our kids even though neither parent can read Chinese fluently.
Most of these books still work well with preschoolers and some even older, but if you’re specifically looking for books for children around 3-6 years old, don’t miss: Mandarin Chinese books and tools for preschoolers & Kindergarteners in non-native households
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com at no additional cost to you.
Counting & Vocabulary Chinese books for babies & toddlers
My First Mandarin Words with Gordon & Li
This one reminds me of Priddy’s First 100 Words books which are great for babies and toddlers vocabulary development.
I Found It! Look and Find book
Add a fun game – look and find – to learn their vocabulary with this book.
One Red Bicycle
This is a quadrilingual book in Chinese, Korean, English and Spanish. It introduces common vehicle vocabulary and counting in all 4 languages.
BoBo Loves Dumplings
A cute book highlighting Chinese food and counting.
Sounds & Songs Chinese books for babies & toddlers
Mandarin Chinese books that have buttons, songs or CDs can be really helpful for parents who have limited to no Chinese language acquisition.
Bao Bao Learns Chinese Nursery Rhyme Sound Book Vol. 1
One of my kids favorite books, half are common Western nursery rhymes sung in Chinese, and the other half are common Chinese nursery rhymes.
Bao Bao Learns Chinese Nursery Rhyme Sound Book Vol. 2
Same as the above, but volume 2 introduces a new set of songs.
Children’s Songs: Two Little Tigers 兩隻老虎歡樂歌謠(1書1CD)
We have this CD in the car and play it regularly to learn some of the most common Chinese nursery rhymes.
Culture Chinese books for babies & toddlers
Introducing and celebrating Chinese culture is an important part of encouraging bilingualism. Holidays are fun and can help cultivate pride and excitement in understanding more about Chinese culture and language. The following books are not written in Chinese, however they are still useful and important to learn Chinese culture.
My First Chinese New Year
Like the famous Karen Katz Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? book, this one is also a simple lift-a-flap board book that young kids love.
Dim Sum for Everyone!
A cute basic introduction to dim sum dining.
Peppa’s Chinese New Year
Use Peppa Pig to help introduce the biggest Chinese holiday!
Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book
Another lift-the-flap book highlighting the fun of Lunar New Year.
