Must-Read | Chinese-English Bilingual Books Galore from Flip for Joy + {International Giveaway}

We've always found reading to be a good way to expose Lil Pumpkin to the Chinese language and are on a look-out for good Chinese books, as you probably know. 2 days ago Lil Pumpkin's Chinese teacher praised her saying that her performance in class was "很棒 {fantastic}!". It made our hearts swell with pride and the boy was so happy he said he could cry haha #proudparents So glad that all our hard work encouraging her to learn Chinese at home has paid off.

Before Meiru contacted me to check out her online children bookstore - Flip for Joy, some of my friends have already recommended it to me because of its wide selection of Chinese books sourced from overseas, that may not be sold in Singapore... {and also because Meiru is a very endearing shop owner... but more on that later!}

A lot of their books are bestsellers and award-winning titles loved by children worldwide. They bring in the best books from all over the world {UK, US, Europe, Korea, Japan, China etc} and you can find popular childrens' titles such as Dear Zoo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, The Giving Tree in the bookstore. The best part is, children can now get to enjoy these classics in the Chinese language or even in both languages!

I felt like a kid in a candy store when I visited Flip for Joy the first time. So many books.. where to start? It's a good thing that it's easy to navigate in the online bookstore as they have categorised the books into 3 main categories - Flip for Fun {highly interactive}, Knowledge {insightful & rich elements of story-telling} and Love {help children love important life values}.

If you're still stuck, they also have Flip Flip Hooray Starter Packs for ages 0-3, 3-5 and 5-7 for parents who want help with selecting books. Each pack will have at least 1 book from each of the 3 categories to provide variety for hours of quality reading.

Annnnnd if you're still stuck after all this, well, Meiru will personally help you to choose books based on your child's age and interest, with no obligations to purchase. That's nice of her, don't you think? She's also very prompt in her replies. It's a lot like asking a friend for shopping advice, than getting answers from a faceless salesperson :P As an ex-JC Chinese language teacher, Meiru has high expectations when it comes to educational resources. In fact, all of Flip for Joy's books are good enough for her own child, and she'll always try reading the books with her kid before writing the sypnosis and recommendations in both Chinese and English so as to help parents choose the best for their children.

Here are 5 of Lil Pumpkin's favourites from the bookstore:

1. 我的感觉系列(7册) My Feelings {7 books}, S$39.90
This Chinese-English bilingual series helps children understand 7 different feelings encountered while growing up - fear, sadness, self-confidence, jealousy, anger, caring for others and missing loved ones, and learn how to describe them in a positive manner. Given her young age, sometimes it's hard for Lil Pumpkin to understand and express different emotions she may feel. By reading the books out loud together, we could discuss things and it helped her to open up more freely with me. I could also use the tips included in the books to help her handle the emotions better.

2. 经典名著立体书：白雪公主 Snow White Pop-up Storybook, S$14.90
The popular story of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs spring to life in this beautifully crafted pop-up book from Korea and Lil Pumpkin absolutely loves loves loves it.  So do I actually! The lovely illustrations, bright colours and pop-up pages promise a fascinating and engaging reading experience. The pop-up book is also available for The Little Mermaid, Red Riding Hood and The Ugly Duckling. I feel like collecting them all :P

3. 爸爸的亲亲 Daddy Kiss, S$13.90
This beautifully illustrated book is translated from an Australian original and tells a heart-warming story of a daughter proclaiming her love for her father. Out of all kinds of kisses, big and small, happy and sad, her favourite kiss of all is a kiss from her daddy. Such a sweet tale and I love watching the boy read it with Lil Pumpkin as throughout the story, he'll smother her with wet smooches hahaha.

4. 经典童话系列（三）(10册) Collection of Fairytales {10 books}, S$39.90
I think the charming point about this collection is the beautiful clay figurines that accompany the little ones through the captivating tales. They make the stories come even more alive! The 10 books include children classes like The Little Prince, Cinderella, Jack & The Beanstalk, Thumbelina etc. Lil Pumpkin tried her hand at making her own character figurine with play dough... not easy at all! Hanyu pinyin is also included with the Chinese text.

5. 熊宝宝的小椅子 A Chair for Baby Bear, S$6.90
This Chinese-English bilingual book is rather cute. It's a creative continuation from the popular children's classic, Goldilocks & The Three Bears. Since Goldilocks broke Baby Bear's chair, this story follows Baby Bear's search for his perfect chair. All 3 of us read in character together {Lil Pumpkin as Baby Bear, the boy as Father Bear and me as Mother Bear} and that was fun! Very interesting way of writing a story and gives me an idea to encourage Lil Pumpkin to come up with her own endings for other stories she likes :) 

Flip for Joy offers free local standard mail for all orders and free delivery by a courier to your doorstep for orders S$50 and above.

Just for my special blog readers and friends only, I have TWO S$30 Flip for Joy Bookstore Gift Cards to give away! You can buy any books of your choice with it and since prices start from S$6.90, you can probably get a good deal from this :)

International Giveaway Method: Random Draw

1. Be a Sakura Haruka Facebook page fan

2. Be a Flip for Joy Facebook page fan

3. Like & Share this Facebook photo and tag a friend. Make sure your post is public!

4. Leave me a blog comment telling me your best tip to encourage kids to read + FB name you used to like the pages + email add. For those unsure of how to comment, choose "Name/URL" option then add your name and comment. If you prefer to send me your email add privately, leave a comment for the other answers then contact me at sakuraharuka {at} live {dot} com.

TWO random winners will be chosen. Just complete all 4 simple steps!

Details:
* Open to readers worldwide. Non-Singapore residents may enter too.
* Ends Monday, 21 Apr 2014 2359hrs {Singapore time} 
* Incomplete or inappropriate entries will be deemed invalid and will not be included.
* Winners will be announced by Sunday, 27 Apr 2014 on this blog post and notified via email. Winners have 3 days to reply, or the prize will be redrawn.
* Sakura Haruka is not responsible for any prizes lost, damaged or misplaced in the mail.
* Book prices are inclusive of only local shipping costs. For overseas deliveries, customers would have to pay shipping costs based on SingPost rates.

UPDATE: The giveaway has ended. The winners are Audrey Soo and Zoe Teo. Stay tuned for more blog giveaways on Sakura Haruka! Check out my current readers promos too. Thanks for your support!

* Disclosure: Flip for Joy provided books for review and gift cards giveaway. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

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