Book Review: A Look At Love Series
A perfect start to warm the heart.
Let's read together! Learning, engagement and artwork
Never heard of it?
That’s great - now, you get to discover something new! This series of books is created by various talented Chinese authors and illustrators who bring their unique visual and auditory storytelling techniques to these little books. All the stories are told through simple language and vocabulary so it’s just the right step for younger children who are starting to learn Chinese. There are plenty of repeated words and phrases to help build confidence and some of the books have a light sense of rhythm that help encourage young readers.
Brace yourselves for the rest of this section, haha! This is a pretty big set to be taking all at once, so I’ve taken the liberty of breaking it down into four smaller, loosely related collections. To help you out, here’s a mini contents!
So, first! At the heart of it all... love!
It’s unsurprising that the first and largest collection of books are all about love and family. (I mean, it is called ‘A Look At Love’ after all!) You’re getting some wonderfully imaginative and charming books (from top to bottom, left to right):
Big And Small 《大大的，小小的》 show a father-son duo waking up one morning and preparing for a day out. We really like how different objects of the daily routine are introduced. It’s a great way to get children relating the book to their own daily routines with things like potties, hairbrushes, pots of cream, etc.. Comparative vocabulary is also playfully introduced here so children start learning the difference between big and small!
A Family 《一家人》 is another sweet book that introduces objects around the house not limited to the morning routine and everything has an adorable family dynamic. You’ve got three bowls: mummy bowl, daddy bowl and baby bowl etc. This book focuses on learning the names for mum and dad while also talking about objects around the house - so it’s easy to relate to!
I Love Mummy! 《好喜欢妈妈!》 shows cute little baby animals running toward their animal mothers! It’s very cute (and actually quite informative!). Who knew that a mother crocodile carries her baby in her mouth? I didn’t! The main focus of this book is learning to form sentences about liking things (“我好喜欢…”), which it does with anaphora (repeating the beginning of that sentence).
What Is Daddy? 《爸爸变成了什么?》 isn’t some metaphysical book about paternal identity, don’t worry. It’s actually about fun and imaginative play! With a giant hairbrush on his back, Dad becomes a hedgehog! Or, when holding shears and trimming bushes, Dad becomes a crab! It’s pretty funny, really.
Hugs 《抱抱》 is all about some animal friends feeling a bit chilly on a winter’s day. And to keep warm, they all give each other hugs! Writing this in a time where we can’t express love and share warmth through hugs feels a bit odd, but it’s a really sweet book about learning to look out for each other’s needs.
Goodnight, Moon 《月亮说晚安》 was a bit tricky to put in a category, so in the end I just put it here. My explanation comes from how I was brought up in a Chinese family where to show respect for older family members, you have to greet your elders one by one in the morning. So in my mind, a greeting (or in this case, a goodnight) is an acknowledgement and expression of love and respect for another!
Plus, books you can count on!
Toddlers and young children are just starting out with numeracy and sometimes it can be difficult to just teach numbers. So these three books are designed to make it fun to count! They all introduce numbers in their own unique ways and stories - some with interactivity, others with story and repetition!
Beep Beep Beep! 《小车嘀嘀嘀》uses interactivity - which is probably natural because counting is best done with some form of engagement of physical touch! This book lends itself to the horizontal/landscape orientation and features a very kind and generous little car who goes over 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 different mountains to get 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 different types of fruits to share with his 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 different friends! The real fun bits come when you’re gliding over the hills with your finger and counting them as you go!
Shh… Don’t Make A Noise! 《嘘！别出声》*whisper* If you’re trying to find ways to get kids to discover their ‘indoor voices’, a cheeky little book about some cheeky little mice might be a fun way to prompt them. The phrase “嘘！别出声” is contextualised into a story about some mice getting in trouble for stealing food and is mainly about counting their loot but the repetition of that phrase certainly helps with building to the next count/number.
Cheep Cheep Cheep! 《小鸡叽叽叽》 has a real charm (apart from the adorable little chicks climbing the stairs) of using the vertical/portrait orientation to imitate steps. It really uses the whole space to tell the story, as though you’re jumping up the steps with the chicks and counting with them step by step. There’s a sweet little twist at the end where one poor chick tumbles to the bottom but gets to try again. A nice example to follow, especially when things after learning how to count - integration, circular motion, statistical distribution: I’m looking at you - can get tougher!
Books to make life more colourful.
Some of the most exciting things to learn about is colour. Rui, for one, really enjoys this topic and she’ll randomly ask us about the colour of objects or the colour of hair or eyes. These two little books use colour to liven up their stories!
Black And White 《黑和白》takes advantage of how babies are inclined towards super high-contrast black-and-white illustrations and images. So, what better way to start reading about colours with the little ones, than with the two colours they first learnt to differentiate? Black and white buttons or black and white fish. These are full of stunning high-contrast illustrations. There’s also a little introduction into the world of colour at the end - not just learning about light levels and contrast - and that not everything is just black and white!
Meow! Little White Cat 《小白猫，喵喵喵》incorporates a short and sweet story about a cat visiting all his friends in their colourful worlds and seeing their beautiful crayon creations. With every friend visited, the little white cat becomes a little more colourful. The crayon illustrations of this book are truly delightful - they’ve got a wonderful vibrancy and visual texture, they look almost freshly drawn! It’s such a nice way to introduce colours - particularly with crayons, as an object that children will be very likely to use themselves!
And finally, books about everything!
This collection will seem like a bit of a cop-out and it basically is. I call them books for general knowledge because they’re mostly about different objects or vehicles or body parts. That kind of thing. (Books reviewed in order from left to right, top to bottom)
On A Swing 《荡秋千》 is a lot of good fun and it was one of those books that made Rui particularly intrigued in swings - even though she didn’t start liking them until recently! Each animal comes to sit on a larger swing and each animal has a lovely friend to push them. It’s a nice way to learn about the animals - and just have fun!
Bang Bang Bang! 《咚咚咚》is about being as loud and audacious as you possibly can! This is a really fun introduction to some instruments that young children may find themselves playing and showing how they can relate with animals. The little boy in the book is really rather adorable, too, parading around with his instruments, imitating animals and making a lot of noise!
Playing In The Rain 《汽车汽车爱玩水》may be about playing in the rain with friends, but it’s really more about learning all the names for vehicles of all shapes and sizes! To be honest, there were things I learnt from this book myself; I never knew what a four-by-four was in Chinese before this! The illustrations, once again, don’t disappoint: lively characters, busy and detailed drawings!
So Itchy 《好痒，好痒》
Writing about this is making me feel itchy! But sometimes sensations are difficult to describe, especially when it seems hard to dumb down ‘itchy’ any further. I really like how the book uses different scenarios to demonstrate how little disturbances make us feel like scratching that itch and illustrate our body parts. And parents with teething children will definitely like (or loathe - haha!) the last page.
I’m Like A… 《像什么?》is one of my favourites from this set because it’s simply ingenious! The book uses a lift-the-flap idea to turn everyday objects like scissors and fans into crabs and peacocks! So, really, it’s two birds with one stone: learning vocabulary about animals and learning vocabulary about useful objects kids might use!
Luka can join in, too.
If you’ve got a Global Luka, then you’ll be able to read some of the books in this set! These readings are very clear and sound professionally produced. Careful, though, not all the books in the set are Luka compatible, so make sure you take a look at the list on the product page to see which ones are and which ones aren’t!
Bringing the book to life. Activities and learning opportunities
Use the prompts!
When Rui reads with any of us, we don’t usually just read at her. We’ll read a little bit of the sentence and encourage her to fill in the gap. If there’s an object/colour then we’ll point at the words as well as the illustration. Some books just utilise a handful of words to tell a whole story, so it makes it really easy for children to remember the words as well as recite the story! This series is full of great prompts because it was written to engage even the littlest children with the language. So make use of them when you can!
What else is in the illustration?
Sometimes it’s obvious just to point out the things that the text may be talking about. But you don’t have to be tied to the text… Take a look at the illustrations and find out what else may be hiding in the picture. Talk about where something is located, or
Books are a part of life!
Make it part of the lifestyle! The large majority of these books are about everyday life so you can use that to your advantage. When you’re looking at fruit, maybe point out the colours of the fruit. When you’re brushing your teeth, point out the toothbrush and whose belongs to whom. That way, you’re bringing the vocabulary out of the book and applying it to their real, physical world to help them absorb it all even better!
Other thoughts...
Brighten up your library!
Aside from the heartwarming illustrations, the colours of this print are fantastic. Bright and bold and beautiful. Honestly. The words are also nice and big - not hard to see at all - so you won’t be straining your eyes to see little words against the brightly coloured pages.
Sturdy?
Not very sturdy. Okay, maybe they won’t last a good, long chew but the paper quality is good and the cover material is made of card (not hardback!). It’s bendable and foldable and tearable and all-round vulnerable to baby assaults, so we’d probably be wary if your little one likes to eat their books. But otherwise, a toddler and definitely children won’t have a problem with handling these books!
Conclusion
There are few sets which I could safely recommend to most parents as having everything that you could possibly need in a Chinese library. A Look At Love offers books by various authors and illustrators that you won’t get two books too similar and you certainly won’t get bored! This is a really unique set that, rather, than focusing on a single topic or theme, it branches out into just… well, the life of a toddler! Each one presents a new opportunity to learn about and use the Chinese language as well as about everyday life! Things like saying goodnight or giving big hugs or learning to count or learning the sounds of instruments - the range is truly exciting!
Have you heard of this series before? We really love how its a collection of work from different Chinese illustrators and authors!
If you like the set and you’re looking for Chinese books for your home library that address everything but doesn’t necessarily break the bank, then you can consider buying it from our shop!
Let us know what you think of this series! Are there any books or sets you’d like us to review next? What are your favourite books to read with toddlers? Tell us in the comments or on social media!
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