Level 1 · Ages 3–6 · Pre-K & Kindergarten
Castles, Colors & Unicorns
城堡 · 颜色 · 独角兽
Castles, rainbows and unicorns make the first 40 Chinese words feel like play. Every word comes with a big picture, pinyin, stroke-by-stroke guides, and audio your child can play from a phone, even if no one at home speaks Chinese.
- 40 first words
- 74 pages, 8.5 × 11 in
- Audio for every word
- Simplified Chinese + pinyin
Hear it now
Tap a word to hear it
In the book, every word has a QR code like these. Here are three to try.
Inside the book
Real pages from the book
All 40 words
What your child will learn
Castles
- 王wángking
- 女nǚgirl
- 公主gōng zhǔprincess
- 王子wáng zǐprince
- 花huāflower
- 心xīnheart
- 衣yīclothes
- 好hǎogood
- 人rénperson
- 儿érchild
- 大dàbig
- 小xiǎosmall
- 口kǒumouth
- 手shǒuhand
- 牙yátooth
- 头tóuhead
- 妈māmom
- 爷yégrandpa
- 耳ěrear
- 我wǒI, me
- 你nǐyou
Colors
- 白báiwhite
- 红hóngred
- 色sècolor
- 光guānglight
Unicorns & Nature
- 马mǎhorse
- 飞fēifly
- 角jiǎohorn
- 毛máofur, mane
- 山shānmountain
- 天tiānsky
- 月yuèmoon
- 日rìsun
- 云yúncloud
- 水shuǐwater
- 风fēngwind
- 叶yèleaf
- 鸟niǎobird
- 羊yángsheep
- 竹zhúbamboo
Who it's for
Made for every family
New to Chinese
The audio does the speaking. English is on every page, and spoken directions let your child follow each activity.
Chinese at home
Your child already knows some words out loud. Now they learn to read and write them, starting with the easiest characters.
Questions
Questions parents ask
What age is it for?
Ages 3 to 6 (Preschool to Kindergarten). Three- and four-year-olds usually listen, color and trace the first rows. Five- and six-year-olds can trace and then write on their own. Older beginners enjoy it too.
I don't speak Chinese. Can I still use it?
Yes. Every word, example and activity direction has audio. Scan the QR code on the page with a phone or tablet and your child hears it. English is on every page, so you always know what the word means.
How do we hear the pronunciation?
Each page has a QR code that opens that word on pandasproutkids.com. It plays the word and an example in Mandarin and shows the strokes being written. No app or account is needed. The audio uses a natural-sounding Mandarin computer voice, checked by a native speaker.
What is pinyin, and do kids need it?
Pinyin spells Chinese sounds with letters, and the marks over the vowels show the 4 tones. It's how children in China learn to sound out words. The book shows pinyin with every word, plus an easy “sounds like” English spelling, and explains both on the 4 Tones and How to Say Pinyin pages.
Simplified or Traditional characters?
Simplified, the characters used in mainland China and most US Mandarin programs.
Does my child need to know any Chinese?
No. This is Level 1: 40 first words, mostly 6 strokes or fewer, starting with the easiest. Children who already speak some Mandarin at home use it to start reading and writing characters.
How should we use it?
About 5 minutes a day: listen to the word, color the picture, trace, then write. An activity every few words reviews what they learned. There's an 8-week plan at the back if you want a routine, but any order works.
Which book should we start with?
The theme your child loves most. The Level 1 books teach different words and can be done in any order.
Will the audio stay online?
The audio stays online for as long as the book is in print, and at least 5 years from purchase. Book owners can also download every audio file for their book, so you'll always have a copy.
Can teachers copy pages?
Yes, for their own students. Classroom packs are coming.
More Level 1 themes
