Chinese–English First 100 Words Cards

My First 100 Words is a picture card set for babies and toddlers, built from the words that fill an ordinary day: people at home, things to eat, animals and nature, and 25 action words such as eat, climb, wave and hug. The pictures are soft cartoon drawings on pastel cards, one color for each group of 25.

The same word, three ways

On a first-level card your child sees the picture and the English word, and that is all. The second level puts the Chinese word under the English one. The third level adds a short sentence and a question that gets your child doing something: the lion card says “The lion can roar.” and asks “Can you roar like a lion?” The socks card asks if they can find a pair.

You don’t need to move through the levels in order. The parent guide suggests the first level for babies and young toddlers and moving up whenever your child seems ready.

What the parent guide covers

The guide has a page for each stage from birth to age 4. For babies under one, it’s holding a card 8 to 12 inches from their face and saying the word slowly. Toddlers of one to two point to one of two cards when you ask “Where is the dog?” From three, children sort the cards into the four groups, tell tiny stories with three cards, and get a turn quizzing you.

It also lists six card games that need nothing else, like a scavenger hunt for the real object or a pretend-play round with the action cards, and suggests which words to bring out at breakfast, bath time, on a walk and at bedtime.

Pages to color and find

Each coloring page has five outlined pictures with the English word in hollow letters ready to color, plus a small Chinese label and a box to draw a favorite. On the find-and-say pages kids count every apple, dog or star in a busy picture. The dictionary shows five pictures to a page, each with its English and Chinese name, and ends each page with “Point & say! Which one do you like best?”

Printing

At actual size the cards print at 4 x 6 inches, two to a sheet with crop marks. The printing guide suggests white cardstock for the cards and 3 to 5 mil laminating pouches if you want them to wipe clean. Keeping five to ten cards out at a time and swapping them each week is the guide’s tip for keeping them interesting.

Questions

Is there pinyin?

No. The Chinese is in simplified characters only, on the second- and third-level cards, in the dictionary and on the poster. The first-level cards show the English word alone.

Which grandparents are 奶奶 and 爷爷?

Those words mean Dad's mother and father. The parent guide notes that Mom's parents are 外婆 and 外公, or 姥姥 and 姥爷, so you can say the right one for your family.