Our family loves to read and the Princess is constantly surrounded by good authentic reading materials. It brings parents such immense satisfaction to see your love of reading rubbed off onto your children. Dana is quite an avid reader now…except…most of her books are in English! We hardly converse in Mandarin, let alone read to her in Chinese.
Hence you can imagine my delight and excitement when I chanced upon this wonderful gem of a online bookstore aptly named Flip For Joy 乐翻天!.
An online Chinese book store started by a Mommy who is passionate about teaching the Chinese Language to her own child. Being an ex JC Chinese language teacher, the owner has very high expectations when it comes to educational resources. Each title is meticulously hand picked and patiently reviewed to ensure they are fun, exciting and engaging for children.
As a Mom with backgrounds in linguistics as well as visual arts, I look for fluent, well-written, well-laid out stories that inspire, teach and widen the child’s horizon. I am also fond of books with vivid, creative illustrations which motivate kids to browse independently. I was very glad to be able to check off many of these qualities in Flip for Joy‘s books.
Flip for Joy stocks many award-winning titles well-loved by children worldwide. The good news is many of these titles are bilingual (with English translation), a godsend for those who have difficulty reading in Chinese. Children (and parents) can now enjoy classics such as ‘Dear Zoo’, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, ‘Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See’, ‘The Giving Tree’ etc in Chinese!
At Flip for Joy, the books are grouped into 3 categories: Flip for FUN, Flip for KNOWLEDGE, Flip for LOVE.
A) Flip for FUN 乐一翻 books are highly interactive and a whole lot of fun.
B) Flip for KNOWLEDGE学一翻 are insightful and have rich elements of story-telling.
c) Flip for LOVE 爱一翻 books help impart the important virtues and values.
Here are some note-worthy titles which Dana enjoy:
1. 莉迪亚.莫恩科绘本（4册)
A creative, humorous and beautifully-illustrated set by renowned UK author Lydia Monks who won a prestigious award for “I wish I were a dog”. Kids will be fascinated to read about a gorilla’s visit, a cat that wished it was a dog, a lonely spider that yearned to be a pet and a donkey that couldn’t stop hawing. Excellent read for pre-schoolers! Dana enjoyed this series and kept asking me to read it over and over again. The illustrations are gorgeous!
2. 世界各地的来信
Translated from a UK original. A bilingual book where children have to open up each envelope to read about the exciting adventures of children growing up in different parts of the world. Learn about India’s family structure, New Zealand’s stone hot pot, the world’s biggest flower, interesting wedding ceremonies, cuisine, coins and more. There is a game board at the end of the book where your child can travel and gain insights about other countries. A must-have for families who loves to travel!
3. 点 The Dot
Translated from an award-winning US original which made it to the New York Times bestselling book list. This is a creative and heartwarming story about a girl who says she cannot draw and when her teacher told her to “make a mark and see where it takes you”, a fascinating self-discovery journey begins. This book promises to stretch your child’s imagination, encourage them to keep trying (never say no) and inspire them to dream big . I love the positive messages this story perpetuate!
4. 勇气 Courage
Translated from an award-winning US original. A heartwarming, bilingual book that explores different kinds of courage, from riding a bicycle without training wheels to trying a new kind of vegetable and more, this beautifully illustrated book encourages children to find courage and confidence when facing challenges of their everyday life. Highly recommended!
Translated from a UK original. A heartwarming, bilingual story that captures the unique bond and unconditional love between a parent and child. Baby Mouse and Mother were taking an evening stroll saw various animals tucking their babies into bed. As Baby Mouse watched how the animals pledged their love to their babies, he wondered if he was just as special as these baby animals. This makes a great bedtime story and a perfect moment to affirm our kids that we love them.
6. 来自英国的儿童情商培养图画书系 (责任，助人 and 公正)
A popular UK series advocating values for character building. This series nurture children to be honest, responsible and helpful with its lively illustrations and clear demonstrations of how to practice these good values in everyday life.
7. 影响孩子一生的情商故事 (我长大以后，小狗与猫咪)
A collection of heartwarming tales by renowned authors and illustrators from Italy, Spain, the US and more. Each of the 15 interesting stories (with Hanyu Pinyin) has a unique theme to cultivate positive values for character building. The series comes with a parental guide and 5 DVDs with the stories animated in both English and Chinese.
8. 青蛙弗洛格的成长故事 (我就是喜欢我，爱的奇妙滋味，难过的弗洛格)
Translated from the international best-selling Dutch series promoting healthy emotional and social development in children. Follow Frog and his friends on their exciting adventures and learn to overcome obstacles and build self-confidence. I find this series more suitable for older children (7-9 years old) as the text is rather lengthy.
Exclusive Giveaway!
The kind folks at Flip For Joy 乐翻天! is sponsoring a generous S$30 Flip for Joy e-gift card (valid for 6 months) for one lucky reader!
To join the giveaway, please:
1. Like both PrincessDanaDiaries and Flip for Joy Facebook pages (if you’ve not done so).
2. Leave a comment on this post telling us which book from the Flip For Joy 乐翻天! is your favourite and why.
3. Leave your email address if you wish to be contacted on your win.
This giveaway ends 31 January 2013. The winner will be picked at random and notified by email. A special word of mention: Flip For Joy 乐翻天! will be launching a series of fresh flips this coming Friday 25 Jan 2013. Do check out their website and Facebook page for the launch!
RESULTS!
Thank you for participating in the Giveaway. Congratulations to Ms. Lynn Soh for being the lucky winner of the the Flip for Joy e-gift card! Flip for Joy will be getting in touch with you real soon.
Liked both pages! My favourite one is the book on Courage. It’s the kind of illustration I really like. 🙂 [email protected]
Liked! My favourite book is 世界各地的来信. It’s a great storybook concept both in terms of idea and the physical execution (notes in envelopes) to learn about unique places and their cultures, sights, etc from all over the world. An eye-opening read for both parents and children!
Carol
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My favourite is Letters Around the World. Would love to read about different parts of the world.
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LIKED! I like the book The Dot! Love books with positive messages like perserverance! 🙂 emailpamela(a)yahoo.com
Liked!
Love books from Flip for Joy and like Dot! for it’s reminder to both parents’ and kids alike for the importance of creativity and imagination, and of course other values.
Maybelline
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Liked!
I think Lil Pumpkin will love reading the Just Like You book. Great one to end the night with 🙂
sakuraharuka at live dot com
Ai @ Sakura Haruka
Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
Love the book Letters Around the World! Really cute concept, especially since Adel is just getting into writing little notes and enclosing them in envelopes addressed to us and her lil sister (who cant read but happily accepts her notes).
Hope to expand my Chinese books collection too!
Lynn Soh
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Have liked both pages 🙂
My favourite book would be The Dot. Love the illustrations and the message it puts across. I think books with positive messages are great for kids.
Email add: [email protected]
Values are hard teach thus needs examples and illustration. I lurv the book dot. Coz it encourages your to work on your imgaination but not dependent on what skills u have [email protected]
Hi,
Thanks for such a great post! Dana is fortunate to have such a good collection of books. I would love the book “Letters around the world” to help my son discover the different cultures and its people. It is a very fun and original way to put small postcards in a book. Thanks, [email protected]
Liked both pages. My favorite one is the book on courage which is useful to teach my kids to be brave. Thanks for hosting! [email protected]
Our fav books are 莉迪亚.莫恩科绘本.
Love the beautiful pictures and cute story lines.
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Hiya!! Thx for hosting this giveaway! 点 The Dot – I like the message of not being afraid to try even if we think we cant do it and the subsequent self discovery process that brings!
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Liked both pages. 🙂
My child and I love the 青蛙弗洛格: 我就是喜欢我 title. We’ve read the entire series and Dumpling loves the illustrations and the friendship / camaraderie between him and his friends. As for me, from a mum’s perspective, I love this specific title because it teaches my child to be confident of herself, her differences and respect others for their uniqueness. I could not have explained this trait better. 🙂
My details:
Alicia
beanienus(at)gmail.com
勇气 sounds interesting! It is also a quality I’m hoping to encourage in my son, who is a bit of a scaredy cat. Haha. Would love to win the gift card!
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