This year for Chinese New Year Tim and I decided not to give Lady AB a red packet. We thought that giving money in an envelope wouldn’t mean much to a 2 year old (and she’d get plenty from her relatives) so instead we bought her a book.
The Pet Dragon is an English language book which finds an ingenious way to incorporate basic Chinese characters into the story. Chinese symbols are often derived from pictograms. For instance, the word for ‘cow’ looks like cow’s horns, the word for ‘horse’ is an equine profile with four legs and the word for ‘fish’ includes a scaley creature and water droplets. The book uses these symbols as part of the bright illustrations for the story of Lin and her pet dragon.
Given that I can’t read Chinese stories to the kids  The Pet Dragon is a good way to teach Lady AB and Baby 2.0 some basic Chinese words in a fun and accessible way. It’s also highlighted the deficiencies in my knowledge of Chinese characters – in fact, my mum suggested that when I take the kids to Chinese school I should go along myself and relearn some basics!
I’m keen to find English language books with the same concept as The Pet Dragon. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!
