Asianmommy Reviews

The Gordon & Li Li board books and iPad app, created by Michele Wong McSween, are useful tools for children learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.  Asianmommy received a free copy of the book series and iPad app for review.

Ms. McSween is a 4th generation Chinese American living in Brooklyn.  She created the Gordon & Li Li series to help her kids learn to speak Chinese.  The series is about two pandas, Gordon and Li Li, who are cousins.  Gordon speaks English and lives in Brooklyn, while Li Li speaks Mandarin and lives in Beijing.  They set out to learn simple, everyday words in each other's languages.

In Gordon & Li Li:  Words for Everyday, Gordon and Li Li learn to say "boy," "girl," "ball," "doll," "car," "train," "book," "bath," "toilet," "toothbrush," "cup," "bowl," "apple," "banana," "shirt," "pants," "shoes," "milk," "water," "juice," and so on in English and Mandarin with Pinyin.  Simplified characters are in the glossary at the back of the book.

In Gordon & Li Li:  Learn Animals in Mandarin, they learn to say "alligator," "lion," "fish," "horse," "duck," "hippo," "cow," "zebra," "panda" (of course!), "dolphin," "giraffe," "monkey," "shark," "killer whale," "polar bear," "penguin," and so on in English and Mandarin with Pinyin, simplified characters, and a pronunciation guide provided on each page.

In Gordon & Li Li:  Count in Mandarin, they learn to count to ten, then to count by tens to 100, again in English and Mandarin with Pinyin, simplified characters, and a pronunciation guide provided on each page.

The iPad app, "Gordon & Li Li:  Learn Animals in Mandarin" has the same 28 animals depicted in the board book with English, Mandarin, and Pinyin, but also with cute animation of the characters and additional features which allow you to hear the pronunciation of the Chinese characters and to trace out the simplified characters.

What I liked:  What I found most enjoyable about this series are the wonderul illustrations done by Kevin Murawski and Nam Doan, especially when brought to life by the iPad app.  I also liked the simple format of the series and the inclusion of Pinyin, as well as English and simplified characters.  The pronunciation guide would be very useful for those unfamiliar with Pinyin.  Also, the ability to hear the pronunciation of the words and to trace out the characters on the iPad app is invaluable.

What could be improved:  It would be nice if the first book, Words for Everyday, could be reprinted with the simplified characters and a pronunciation guide on each page.  Otherwise, this a great series for kids starting to learn Mandarin!

*Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.

Little Dragon Tales:  Chinese Children's Songs is a CD made by Cheng & Tsui, featuring 12 classic Chinese kids' songs with a modern flair.  The songs are produced by The Shanghai Restoration Project and sung by Yip's Children's Choir Canada, accompanied by electronic music.  Asianmommy received a free copy of this CD for review.

I recognize many of the songs from my childhood, including "Zhao pengyou (Making Friends)," "Ni Wawa (Clay Doll)," "Liang zhi Laohu (Two Tigers)," and "Gongxi gongxi (Congratulations)," which is perfect for celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year.

To see these kids in action, you can visit their website at http://littledragontales.com/.  So cute!

What I liked:  The CD is full of fun songs that the whole family can enjoy.  The music is modernized with a catchy beat.  I think it's a great way to get kids excited about learning Chinese.

What could be improved:  I would love to hear more from this group!

Asianmommy.com was given a free download of Chef Jeff’s cookbook entitled dinneRevolution:  “Healthy and Modern Recipes Made Simply with 10 Ingredients or Less in Under 30 Minutes.”  That’s a pretty tall order, and something that I think every mom could use.  Honestly, getting dinner on the table every night is not so easy when you have to get the kids to after school activities and help with homework all the time.

Chef Jeff Pirtle offers over 200 recipes in this collection.  The sections include Poultry, Seafood, Pork, Beef, and Side dishes.  Here are some recipes that I'd like to try:  Thai Cucumber Salad, Sweet & Sour Carrots, Thai Beef Skewers, Vegetarian Pad Thai, Shrimp Stir-Fry, Grilled Salmon with Sesame-Ginger Glaze, Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing, Sweet & Sour Mandarin Chicken with Cashews, Chinese Chicken Salad, Asian Turkey Burgers, and Asian BBQ Chicken. 

What I liked:  The recipes seem to be easy to follow.  I also like that the Nutritional Information is provided for each recipe.

What could be improved:  Some recipes may be too simple, such as the one for Roasted Sweet Potatoes, which doesn’t tell you if you should cut or peel the sweet potatoes before mixing them with salt, sugar, pepper, garlic powder, and oil.  Seems like you should, right?

You can check out the cookbook yourself.  Click to get your free copy of dinneRevolution, courtesy of Chef Jeff.

Asianmommy.com received a free sample of the Bounce Free Dryer Bar through the BlogHer - Bounce Sampling Program.  It was simple to use--just had to remove the paper backing and stick the bar on the dryer wall and run the dryer as usual. 

My clothes came out smelling fresh and clean with no static, and now I don't have to remember to throw in a dryer sheet with each load.  One bar lasts about 3 months, so I'll have to remember to replace it when needed.

What I liked:  The Bounce Free dryer bar is free of dyes and perfumes, works great, and makes my life a little easier.

What could be improved:  The first time I used the dryer bar, it left a few white spots on my black pants.  The spots came out easily when I put the pants through the washer/dryer a second time.  This hasn't happened again with subsequent dryer loads, so the next time I use a new dryer bar for the first time, I would probably do a light-colored load first.