Books with title Gumdrop and the Birthday Surprise

Nina lives with her aunt Dora in the middle of the Robbers’ Woods surrounded by her animal friends and “robbers” Niek, Viek, and Riek. The robbers, though wild and savagelooking, are actually nice and kind and only steal weapons from hunters who would hurt forest animals. Everyday holds a new adventure for Nina and her woodland friends. One day while walking through the forest Nina notices that everybody is busy with something and acting suspiciously. She is disappointed to find that Sparrow, the Mouse Family, Crow, Miss Weasel, Grandpa Badger and even the robbers have no time to stop and chat. When she arrives back home, however, she gets a delightful surprise: all her friends were busy because they were throwing Nina a birthday party. A perfect birthday gift for young readers, this is a sweet story that celebrates friendship.

An enchanting and charming tale, told and sung in both English and Mandarin alongside an accompanying CD of original songs, this picture book follows Little Laura and her wanderings through a magical forest that ends with a lovely birthday surprise. Filled with delightful and cheerful illustrations, the book and CD pair to make learning Mandarin and its correct pronunciations easy and fun. Children will learn useful Chinese phrases, how to count to 10, as well as sing four songs in Chinese. It is written in English and Pinyin—the system for writing Chinese words with the Roman alphabet—and has a handy glossary at the back in three forms: English, Pinyin, and both traditional and simplified Chinese characters.