4 Dentist Books in Chinese - NLB books review

Library Books Review #2 – Dentist books in Chinese

I find it hard to navigate our public library, especially when I’m looking for Montessori-aligned toddler books, in this case Dentist books in Chinese. So I am trying to keep track of the library books I borrowed that I recommend here on this blog. Hope it will be useful for your reference as well. For context, my toddler is around 3 years old. The posts will cover a mix of English and Mandarin books.

I included links to Amazon so you can buy at your convenience the English and Chinese versions of the books (where available). I get a tiny commission when you click through the links and make a purchase. It doesn’t increase your cost on Amazon but it does help you give me a tiny “tip” so to speak, which eventually accumulates enough to treat me to a coffee or two. :P

Now, let’s get started!

1. 医生（Dentists and What they Do）

4 Dentist Books in Chinese - Book 1 - 医生 translated from Dentist by Liesbet Slegers - book cover — 医生 translated from **Dentist** by Liesbet Slegers

医生（Dentists and What they Do） was originally written by Liesbet Slegers and first published in Belgium and the Netherlands titled “De tandarts”. Out of the 4 books covered today, I find this book to be the one I would recommend if you are looking for a Montessori-friendly book. The rest of the books were… not as good~

In this book we accompany a little boy to his routine dental check.

虽然我每天都刷牙，但我还是会定期让牙医帮我检查牙齿。。。
牙医 by Liesbet Slegers

We meet the dentist and learn the words for describing the parts that make up her uniform – masks, gloves, gown.

医生 translated from Dentist by Liesbet Slegers - inside we meet the dentist and learn the words for describing the parts that make up her uniform - masks, gloves, gown. - Dentist Books in Chinese — 牙医穿着大白褂，
在给我检查牙齿前，
她会戴上口罩和手套。

We also get to learn about the dentist’s tools in a factual and non-threatening manner.

医生 translated from Dentist by Liesbet Slegers - insidethe book - Dentist Books in Chinese

Sometimes the simpler straightforward books may work the best with young toddlers, especially when it’s an unfamiliar topic.

Check it’s availability at NLB’s website here.
Read reviews and buy on Amazon – English book | Chinese book

2. 小千扮牙医（Chichan No Haishasan）

First published in 2003, 小千扮牙医（Chichan No Haishasan）feels dated and probably does not serve the agenda of parents using Montessori or RIE approaches in their parenting. It starts whimsically with a cat and a dog eating candy. Along comes Chichan to give them a pretend dental checkup.

小千扮牙医（Chichan No Haishasan） by Michio Shimizu - inside the book - dentist pretend play - Dentist Books in Chinese

She subsequently takes their candy as payment, much to their consternation.

But Chichan eventually becomes a cautionary tale for young readers as she subsequently gets a real toothache and needed to go to the dentist.

小千扮牙医（Chichan No Haishasan） by Michio Shimizu - inside the book - But Chichan eventually becomes a cautionary tale for young readers as she subsequently gets a real toothache and needed to go to the dentist. - Dentist Books in Chinese

Does such a cautionary tale really work with young toddlers? At the same time, the humour surrounding her taking the little animals’ candy as payment makes me feel uncomfortable as well. The little girl seems somewhat of a bully if you look at it from another angle. 怎么说呢？就是觉得别扭。。。

In conclusion, this book is not really something I would pick up from the library again.

Check it’s availability at NLB’s website here.

3. 我的妈妈是牙科医生 1 – 乳牙是我的好朋友

So I had high hopes for a book series titled “My mother is a dentist“. This is Book 1 of the series “Baby teeth are my good friends.” I guess I should not have expected too much.

To be fair, I do like the parts that talk about baby teeth，how they will fall off and be replaced by a final set of teeth and also how baby teeth are important for guiding the next set of teeth into the right position.

妞妞知道我们人类有两副牙齿。妞妞现在的牙齿是乳牙，有20颗呢。
6岁以后这些乳牙会逐渐脱落，乳牙原来的地方会长出恒牙，恒牙能够使用很长时间。
我的妈妈是牙科医生 1 – 乳牙是我的好朋友

我的妈妈是牙科医生 1 - 乳牙是我的好朋友 - about baby teeth — 这下妞妞明白了，乳牙朋友们一直在帮助自己。它们帮助自己清楚的说话；它们用力地咀嚼食物，让食物更容易消化；它们还在默默地帮恒压引路。让恒牙准确地找到自己的位置。尽管乳牙早晚要脱落，可是乳牙真的很重要。

But how do I explain these sort of surreal images page after page to Little P??
*憋屈！啊！啊！啊！*

The teeth on one side were arguing and complaining that the teeth on the other side were not doing their fair share of the work.
😓 😓 😓

The story again positions the female protagonist as a cautionary tale which I won’t even go into. It’s just not an enjoyable book with too much going on. The picture style is too busy, too surreal, too overwhelming.

This book is again not really something I would pick up from the library again.

Check it’s availability at NLB’s website here.

4. 我不怕看牙医 – I’m not afraid to see the dentist

4 Dentist Books in Chinese - Book 4 - 我不怕看牙医 - 张野著 - book cover — **我不怕看牙医**
张野著

The last Chinese dentist book I’m reviewing on this post sports yet another art style that differs from the rest. 我不怕看牙医 (I’m not afraid to see the dentist) starts off somewhat humorously.

我不怕看牙医 - 张野著 - inside the book - The male protagonist Luo（阿罗） had some cavities in his teeth. One cavity was so big that it echoed when his dad shouts into his mouth. - Dentist Books in Chinese — The male protagonist Luo（阿罗） had some cavities in his teeth. One cavity was so big that it echoed when his dad shouts into his mouth.

He mustered up his courage to go see the dentist. His brain conjured up images in the most dramatic fashion throughout.

我不怕看牙医 - 张野著 - inside the book - His brain conjured up images in the most dramatic fashion throughout. - Dentist Books in Chinese — Like on this page where he imagined various drills as torture instruments aiming for his mouth. I’m not sure if this book is meant to calm down the child or make them more nervous about seeing the dentist. So I think this book may work better as a funny read after a good visit to the dentist.

Thankfully, the drill was just a little drill and it was not painful at all.

Luo behaved calmly enough while making various little comments about the situation in his mind, such as, thinking his teeth is pretty white. He was also strangely obsessed with the dentist’s mouth behind her mask. He persisted in thinking she must have a big mouth like a hippo behind her mask.

真可惜，她的嘴巴像河马一样大，阿罗有些惋惜地想。
我不怕看牙医

He even felt a little excitement when informed the dentist was now repairing the exterior appearence of the tooth with the biggest cavity.

我不怕看牙医 - 张野著 - inside the book - Teeth filling - He asked the dentist if she could make his teeth look like a dinosaur's teeth, a tiger's teeth or a squirrel's teeth. But she declined. - Dentist Books in Chinese — He asked the dentist if she could make his tooth look like a dinosaur’s tooth, a tiger’s tooth or a squirrel’s tooth. She declined.

At last it was done, Luo’s cavities were filled and mended.

我不怕看牙医 - 张野著 - inside the book - At last it was done, Luo's teeth were filled and mended. And Luo was also happy for the dentist because he discovered she didn't have a big mouth like hippo after all. - Dentist Books in Chinese — And Luo was also happy for the dentist because he discovered she didn’t have a big mouth like hippo after all.

I thought the child was a little odd due to the obsession with the dentist’s mouth but otherwise, I thought this book was not as bad a read as the other two books where the girls are positioned as more of a cautionary tale for the child.

This book I felt was more accepting of Luo’s feelings of trepidation towards the dental visit (compared to My Mother is a Dentist) and alls well that ends well for him. But like I said, due to the “drama“, I would proceed with caution sharing this book with young children who may be more sensitive and fearful.

Check it’s availability on the NLB website.
Buy on Amazon – Chinese book.

I’m glad to get to the end of this review of 4 Dentist Books in Chinese.

I struggled with the books I didn’t enjoy and wondered why I am wasting time blogging about them. But the fact is I couldn’t find out about them before picking them up hastily from the library. So if you were googling for Chinese books about visiting the dentist and landed here, I hope this review helped you decide whether these titles are right for you before wasting your time borrowing them.

Stay safe!