CURIO Book Subscription Review: Treasures in a Box

CURIO book subscription box for children's language learning | MissPandaChinese.com

CURIO Book Subscription Review

Meet CURIO

Welcome to our CURIO book subscription review! CURIO is a subscription book club for multiple languages including Chinese. It’s a pioneering company dedicated to fostering a love for languages in children through its thoughtfully curated book subscription boxes. It’s created for children ages 0-10. Founded by Hera Li lives in NYC and is originally from Singapore. Hera is raising young multilingual children and fully understands the importance of being bilingual for future generations. CURIO Books aims to immerse young readers in world languages, making learning enjoyable. CURIO is on an important mission to introduce young children to diverse cultures and languages to expand their world and enhance their cognitive development.

I appreciate their caring curation and availability of Traditional and Simplified Chinese books. In addition, they also have Spanish and French collections. CURIO is a beautiful literacy-building resource and gift for heritage Chinese language learners and learners acquiring Chinese as a world/second language.

CURIO Book Subscription Review

A Review of the CURIO Books Received

The CRUIO box I received includes three books. Each has a one-page guided reading page with an AUDIO support QR code, a story summary, a vocabulary list in Chinese, pinyin, Zhuyin, and English translation. Furthermore, there are discussion questions. I adore book discussion questions because they can ignite curiosity, extend learning, and keep the target language active. My young test readers truly enjoyed this set of books and the questions. I believe yours will, too.

Now, let’s discover the treasures in this CURIO box.

1. Mae’s First Day of School

“Mae’s First Day of School” is an award-winning book in which the leading character depicts a child’s apprehensions on her first day at school. The Chinese language edition of this book is ideal for young readers with its engaging narrative, simple dialogue, and short sentences. The vivid illustrations complement the story, making it easy for children to relate to Mae’s emotions and experiences. The story can also help young readers talk about their feelings as they prepare for their first of school.

2. Daddy Fartypants

“Daddy Fartypants” is a hilarious tale that delights young readers with its playful story and amusing illustrations. This book is beautifully translated into Chinese. It introduces everyday words in an entertaining style, making language learning a laughter-filled experience for children. The humor and light-heartedness of the story keep young readers engaged, giggling, and wanting to read it again. Again, and again. Well, it is about FAR_, no one can avoid it… This is a book that young readers can easily read on their own after a few reads. More importantly, the illustrations offer so much for funny discussion, expression exploration, and extended word learning.

3. Me and My Fear

“Me and My Fear” addresses the complex emotions of fear and anxiety in a child-friendly manner. This book, well translated into Chinese, uses simple yet impactful language to convey its message. The expressive illustrations help children understand and empathize with the protagonist’s feelings, providing a space for discussions about emotions, coping strategies, and social-emotional learning.

What makes CURIO Books stand out is the core approach of these books. Each of the books connects with a life skill topic. Each focuses on a comprehension level in the target language, Chinese, that can guide young readers to practice vocabulary and expressions daily. The one-page resource comes with the CURIO Books providing parents with a guide to bringing the Chinese language into the home environment. A target language-rich home keeps Chinese visible, possible, and doable for kids and parents.

CURIO Books Review on MissPandaChinese

The Importance of Reading for Language Acquisition

Reading and Listening Are Language Input

I cannot stress the importance of reading enough in language acquisition, no matter if it’s a child’s first language or second, or third… language. Renowned linguist Dr. Stephen Krashen emphasizes the importance of reading in language acquisition. This is one of the most important principles in my language instruction and program consulting. According to Krashen’s Comprehensible Input Hypothesis, learners acquire language most effectively when they understand the input they receive, which is often facilitated through reading. He emphasizes that reading provides a rich source of language input, essential for developing language skills. With engaging stories, your young readers make progress in the target language with each book.

Extended Reading Builds Up Langauge Proficiency

Dr. Paul Nation, another prominent researcher in language education, highlights the importance of reading. Nation’s research highlights the role of extensive reading in building vocabulary and improving overall language proficiency. He talks about how exposure to large amounts of written language helps learners internalize vocabulary and grammar in context, which is crucial for language development.

When we provide at-level and graded reading materials we assist young readers to repeatedly expose to words they know and new vocabulary to add to their repertoire.

Bonding Through Reading

Furthermore, studies have shown that reading with parents can enhance children’s language skills and emotional bonding. Shared reading experiences provide children with additional linguistic input and foster a positive attitude toward reading and learning. The interactive nature of reading together helps strengthen the parent-child bond, making the learning process more enjoyable and effective.

Together is better. Read together, experience stories together, and have fun together.

CURIO Book Subscription Review

Highlights of the CURIO Book Subscription Box

CURIO’s book subscription box stands out for its curation, language options, cultural elements, and life-skill focus:

Curated Selections: Books are chosen for their educational value, engaging content, and high-quality illustrations.
Language Immersion: The books are entirely in Chinese (or the target language of your choice), which provides an immersive experience that enhances language learning naturally.
Cultural Element: Stories in the three books I’ve received can be used across cultures in book discussion and comparison.
Age-Appropriate Content: Books are selected to match the developmental stages and interests of young readers.

You can find the following reader options from CURIO: Bud for ages 0-3+ and Sprout for ages 4+.

Activities and Extended Learning with CURIO Books

Extend the learning experience with books from CURIO beyond just reading:

Storytelling: After reading a story parents can guide young readers to tell the story by looking at the illustrations and later on their own.
Acting: This is always a fun activity for young kids. The best part is when parents join in.
Projects: Kids enjoy hands-on activities. From characters in a book to the pictures, there are art, craft, and music… projects you can guide your child to work on.
Q&A: Use the book’s themes to prompt discussions in the target language. Share your own experience that is similar to the theme of each book.