October 2025 new arrivals
Now that the Mid-Autumn festival has passed, I want to highlight a few new arrivals to the curated collection - all are board books appropriate for children 0-3. Some are bilingual in Chinese and English, while others are written in Simplified Chinese and come with a separate print out pinyin guide for heritage speakers.
1. Bizzy Bear Fire Rescue 小熊很忙- 小小消防员
Perhaps not surprising - I've decided to stock a new Bizzy Bear title, this one about firefighters! We live near a fire station and frequently hear sirens. My daughter is scared of the sirens, but I bought this books to introduce her to the concept of firefighters in the hopes that she won't be scared anymore! Bonus is that this board books is bilingual, in Chinese and English.
As a fun aside - because I've been telling her "不怕” （don't be scared!) when firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, etc. drive by with their sirens, she now refers to all of them as "不怕“
Another classic translated from English into Simplified Chinese, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is a simple, yet delightful lift the flap book about animals. This book also comes with a pinyin guide, though the sentence structure and vocabulary are pretty simple, so even if you are not natively fluent in Chinese, you'll probably be able to memorize the book after a few times!
3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 棕色的熊，棕色的熊，你看到什么？
The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been a popular book for Lotus Leaf Books customers and I love Eric Carle books in general. I found this bilingual English-Simplified Chinese edition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and decided to stock it in my store. It's a hardcover edition, so not as sturdy as a board book, and thus better for slightly older toddlers, but I love that it's bilingual - you get two books in one! (Note that I do also stock the board book version, which is in Simplified Chinese only). The translation admittedly does not rhyme as well as the English original book, but this is still a fun read with toddlers who are learning Chinese.
4. Spiral bound vocabulary flash cards
These have been a hit so far! I have two bundles - one for fruits and vegetables, and one for domesticated and wild animals. These spiral bound flash cards are sturdy and come with Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin. The pictures are realistic, perfect for parents who are following the Montessori style of teaching and also teaching their children Chinese.
Stay tuned for more festive and seasonal books arriving in November!