Library Books Review #1
I find it hard to navigate our public library, especially when I’m looking for Montessori-aligned toddler books in Mandarin. So moving forward, Í will keep track of the Montessori-aligned 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 2.5 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. 高高兴兴说再见 (Bye-Bye Time)
Bye-Bye Time was originally written in English by Elizabeth Verdick. We follow this little girl who resisted separating from her father at the entrance of her school. We see her trying out coping strategies she was taught to do. She calms down and enjoys school with her schoolmates before dad picks her up again.
This is the one book I reserved this month (August) to be brought over to our local library branch. I wanted it mainly because Little P was going through separation anxiety in pre-school and I thought this might be a read that he could identify with and maybe find it helpful.
Many thanks to the Chou Sing Chu Foundation for donating it to the library so we could read it! I recommend it for children who may or are experiencing separation anxiety at playgroup/preschool/kindergarten.
- Check it’s availability at NLB’s website here.
- Read reviews and buy on Amazon – English book | Chinese book
2. Doctors
I think this book did a great job of covering the main points of the doctor’s job in relation to toddlers succinctly. Definitely a book I would recommend for having the conversation with your toddler about for example, an upcoming vaccination appointment, which was exactly the reason why I borrowed this book this month.
It is more of a generic book, so I did pair it with a DIY book I made Little P when he was way younger then now. This is to set expectations in terms of what he should expect when we enter the polyclinic, such as the nurse will take his height, weight, measure his head and give him the jab(s). And how the doctor will play games with him while making developmental assessments.
It’s also a nice book from the aspect of racial and gender inclusivity using actual photographic images.
- Check it’s availabilty at the NLB website.
- If you are not in Singapore, check it out on Amazon.
3. Leopard in Mumbai
What if a leopard escaped from a nature park and headed into the city?
Here’s a book that car-obsessed Little P enjoyed greatly. Every page was filled with all the local transportation that you can find in Mumbai. Little P had fun following this leopard’s tracks as it hitches a ride on various transport and breezes past various landmarks as it infiltrates Mumbai!
A fun book to read if a child is exploring Mumbai geography because these parts are still referencing reality, although the book is written in the perspective of the leopard.
4. National Geographic Little Kids Magazine (Mar/Apr 2021)
Mr P was so enthusiastic about this magazine that he suggested subscribing to it! He found it fun to read with Little P as it had animals and little activities that they could do together.
The information inside was definitely useful. Some of the animals covered include the Pangolin, Peacock, Slow loris and Chipmunks.
Check out my post about the book and pangolins in Singapore here.
And the range of content also gives us an opportunity to observe for example what sort of animals or activities Little P was more interested in within the magazine.
But I thought why subscribe if we can just borrow from the library?
However on my most recent visit to the library, I observed some of the available editions are really quite torn and tattered. So, I think I will continue to observe for another couple of months before deciding.
- Check its availability at NLB website.
- Also, National Geographic Little Kids Magazine subscription on Amazon.
5. Ranger Rick Jr. Magazine – Make Way for Ducks
This is another viable magazine option for kids who like animals! Both magazines had fun and useful information about animals so I don’t particularly favour one over the other. In this edition, I found the information on ducks particularly fascinating. The magazine included a fictional story which we totally skipped.
- Not linking to NLB since I can’t locate the magazine in their system.
- Ranger Rick Junior Subscription on Amazon.
6. 外公会忘了我吗？(The Tide)
This book I borrowed more to check out the storyline than to read to Little P. Definitely a book I will KIV for future if we ever need to explore the themes about grandparents and dementia that this story covers.
- Check out its availability on NLB website.
- Buy on Amazon – English book | Chinese book
2 other books that Little P enjoyed
In addition to the five books and magazines listed above, I also borrowed two other books that are not necessarily aligned to Montessori but Little P enjoyed.
牙齿一家和牙刷超人 (Teeth Family and Toothbrush-Man)
I have to be honest to say this book is not as informative or rich in dental-related language as some of the other books we’ve read. But Little P found this book really entertaining so we read it quite a bit during the loan period.
小饼干的大道理 (Cookies: Bite-sized Life Lessons)
This book I feel is for older kids who are capable of starting to understand concepts like “being positive”, “being negative”, “generosity” and “wisdom”. So it’s a little bit beyond Little P at this stage I feel. But, it was still fun for him to sit and eat cookies while listening to all these new words.
And after that we took out our playdough to make some cookies!
- Read my review of 小饼干的大道理 book.
- Check it’s availability on the NLB website.
- Buy on Amazon – English book | Chinese book.
I’ve really enjoyed the books this month (August), not just because of the content in the books, but also because 5 of them are brand new books I found on the New Arrivals shelf! Ahahaha. Enjoy the newness and fresh crisp pages while they last! ;)
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