Sandy the Crab's Little Audio Library

What can a children’s book about imaginative playground adventures teach us about language, inclusivity, and unexpected friendships?

In this episode of Sandy the Crab's Blog Pod, Rebecca from Little Crab Educational Press shares the story behind Let’s Pretend! – Ràng Wǒmen Jiǎxiǎng – 让我们假想! What started as an idea inspired by two brothers playing at the park took Rebecca on a much more complicated journey than she expected – especially when she discovered that some very ordinary playground words don’t translate quite so simply between English and Mandarin.

Along the way, a particularly tricky piece of playground vocabulary led to some unexpected research, plenty of consultation with Mandarin speakers, and eventually, an entirely unexpected friendship and creative partnership.

Rebecca explores why getting even the simplest vocabulary right matters when our goal is to help children from different language backgrounds play, communicate, and include one another.

Whether you’re learning Mandarin, teaching a second language, raising a bilingual child, supporting a heritage language learner, homeschooling, or simply interested in the ways language can bring people together, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the unexpected places language learning can lead.

Thank you for joining us. Now, let’s press play on “Inclusivity on the Playground: Finding Friends in Unexpected Ways”.

If you need to switch to reading it instead, read it here.

PLUS: Sign up for our newsletter to GET THE FREEBIE mentioned in this episode – a bilingual phrase sheet to help kids welcome newcomers on the playground.

All audio heard in this episode is written, recorded and produced by LCEP. Original theme song by LCEP.

Ever had a tiny conversation in a second language that left you feeling strangely exhilarated?

In this episode of Sandy the Crab's Blog Pod, Rebecca from Little Crab Educational Press explores the unexpected adrenaline rush of speaking an additional language in the real world. After nearly three decades of learning Mandarin Chinese, she still finds that even a simple, everyday conversation can bring an enormous sense of accomplishment. She shares why you don't need to be fluent to enjoy speaking another language, how to find lower-pressure opportunities to practise, and one simple strategy for making real-world conversations a little less intimidating. We're teaching "How I Get My No-Risk-All-Reward Adrenaline Fix".

Whether you're learning Mandarin, teaching a second language, raising a bilingual child, supporting a heritage language learner, homeschooling, or simply trying to become more confident speaking a foreign language, this episode offers an encouraging perspective on language learning: you don't have to wait until you're "fluent" to start experiencing the rewards of using another language.

Thank you for joining us. Now, let's press play on "How I Get My No-Risk-All-Reward Adrenaline Fix".

(Read the full blog post, including the Mandarin conversation that inspired it HERE.)

PLUS: Sign up for our newsletter to get the FREEBIE mentioned in this blog.

All audio heard in this episode is written, recorded and produced by LCEP. Original theme song by LCEP.

Ever been helping your child with language homework only to discover that dictionaries, apps, and even native speakers don't all agree on the "right" translation?

In this episode of Sandy the Crab's Blog Pod, Rebecca from Little Crab Educational Press shares the surprising story of trying to find the best Mandarin Chinese translation specifically for "mandarin orange"—and how a simple vocabulary question turned into a deep dive into dictionaries, regional language differences, context, and real-world language use. We're teaching "5 Ways to Help Your Child Hack Word Translation in Any Language”. 

Whether you're raising a bilingual child, supporting a heritage language learner, homeschooling, teaching Mandarin, learning English as a second language, or simply helping your child study a foreign language, this episode offers practical strategies for navigating confusing or conflicting word definitions with greater confidence.

Thank you for joining us. Now, let's press play on "5 Ways to Help Your Child Hack Word Translation in Any Language”.

PLUS: Discover our free "M & E Dialogue Clarification Cheat Sheet Pack", designed to help learners ask better questions, get clearer answers, and improve communication skills faster available at https://littlecrabpress.myflodesk.com/mandedialogueclarificationcheatsheet 

All audio heard in this episode is written, recorded and produced by LCEP. Original theme song by LCEP.

This track accompanies two books:

Colouring & Activity Book - Winter: Competitive Sports - 冬季竞技体育 - Dōngjì jìngjì tǐyù: with Bilingual Vocabulary Word Games in English and Simplified Chinese Characters

Winter: Competitive Sports - 冬季竞技体育 - Dōngjì Jìngjì Tǐyù: Beginner Bilingual English and Mandarin Chinese (with Pinyin) Simplified Character Handwriting Practice Workbook

The track demonstrates the 18 words in these books using English Natural Pace - English Slow Pace - English Natural Pace (a little faster)

...then repeats the word in Mandarin using Mandarin Slow Pace, Mandarin Natural Pace, Mandarin Slow Pace.

Recorded by Little Crab Educational Press. All Rights Reserved.

littlecrabpress.ca

🎙️ Welcome to the second episode of the Little Audio Library's "Blog Pod" series! For this one, we're jumping to the April 2024 post from The Little Blog. The post, entitled Have We Met?, gives you a peek behind the curtain and chance to hear all about the genesis and "making of" Little Crab Educational Press.

But first, what's a "Blog Pod"? It's the part of our Little Audio Library where our written blog posts are transformed into engaging audio content.

Although we didn't initially set out to include podcasting in our repertoire, we realized that as a language study resources company, our audio offerings should expand beyond the free audio accompaniments we provide with our books. This decision not only aligns with our core value of inclusivity (and, as such, working to build content that is more accessible), but it also resonates with our busy lifestyles as working moms. After all, podcasts lend themselves so well to task-stacking!

Looking forward to creating a Part Two to this one someday. This post is going to feel like a time capsule! :-D

Things in the audio we mention would be available in the show notes:

1) Get your Bilingual Boats printable freebie version <---here.

2) Here is your access to the Little Freebie Library.

3) School House Teaching Supplies, who carries LCEP titles on their shelves, is the Educational Store for Everyone, in Victoria BC, Canada.

Wanna hear something kinda fun and unusual? In April 2024, Rebecca (朱婷 / Zhū Tíng) and Xianjing (张娴静 / Zhāng Xiánjìng) did an interview with Host Joyce Lee from Fairchild Radio 1430 AM in Toronto, am1430.com, and here is their segment. The show, called 一期一會 (English translation is "See you on Sunday"), starts off in Cantonese but since neither Rebecca nor Xianjing speak Cantonese, their answers are in Mandarin. Our introductions start at about the 35 second mark, if you want to skip the intro.

In this interview, Joyce, speaking Cantonese, asks us about our backgrounds and how we came to start writing Mandarin and English bilingual kids books, and we share one of the poems from our book Vegetables! My First Chinese English Nursery Rhymes Collection! - 蔬菜！我的第一本中英文童谣集  (Shūcài! Wǒ de dì yī běn zhōnyīngwén tóngyáo jí ) Available at our website littlecrabpress.ca or on Amazon.

This is the English version of our flagship storybook Little Byron - Xiǎo Bái Rèn - 小白任 , which can be purchased through our website ⁠littlecrabpress.ca⁠, through independent bookstores in Canada, or through Amazon. Just search for the ISBN, which is 979-8818315928.

🎙️ Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Little Audio Library's "Blog Pod" series! In this episode, we're thrilled to bring you an audio rendition of our first post from The Little Blog at Little Crab Educational Press.

But first, what's a "Blog Pod"? It's the part of our Little Audio Library where our written blog posts are transformed into engaging audio content.

Although we didn't initially set out to include podcasting in our repertoire, we realized that as a language study resources company, our audio offerings should expand beyond the free audio accompaniments we provide with our books. This decision not only aligns with our core value of inclusivity (and, as such, working to build content that is more accessible), but it also resonates with our busy lifestyles as working moms. After all, podcasts lend themselves so well to task-stacking.

In this episode, we're diving into "6 Awesome Ways to 'Stretch' Your Kids' Storybooks." We'll explore creative techniques to maximize the educational benefits of storytime with your little ones. Whether you're a parent, educator, or simply someone passionate about language learning, this episode offers valuable insights to enrich your family's reading experiences.

Whether you're folding laundry, commuting to work, or simply unwinding at home right now, we hope you find inspiration and practical tips to make the most out of every storybook adventure.

Thank you for joining us. Now, let's dive into "6 Awesome Ways to 'Stretch' Your Kids' Storybooks"!

Here is where you go to grab your Little FREEBIE mentioned in this audio blog.

This is the Mandarin version of our flagship storybook Little Byron - Xiǎo Bái Rèn - 小白任 , which can be purchased through our website littlecrabpress.ca, through independent bookstores in Canada, or through Amazon. Just search for the ISBN, which is 979-8818315928.

This track is the Mandarin Chinese - 中文 audio accompaniment for the book Vegetables! My First Chinese English Nursery Rhymes Collection! - 蔬菜！我的第一本中英文童谣集. The paperback book was released for sale on our littlecrabpress.ca website and on Amazon in December of 2023 . English poem recitations are also provided as a separate track.

In this track you will hear the English version of 26 nursery rhymes which focus on one vegetable per letter of the alphabet. (Ex. A = Alfalfa sprouts /苜蓿芽, B = Broccoli / 西兰花.) In cases where there is no English word that fits the theme for a given letter, which is often the case with letters such as Q/X/Y/Z, then Pinyin is used for that letter. For example, in this set of poems, X is for Baby Bok Choi because in Pinyin it is "Xiǎo Bái Cài", (小白菜).

These 26 poems are completely original works, lovingly co-written by certified Mandarin and English teachers Zhang Xianjing and Rebecca Juetten. While the rhyming patterns do not always align in both languages, the poems were written "congruently" as opposed to one after the other, such that neither language is a translation of the other. In other words, the poems were co-written to correspond in meaning line by line as accurately as possible while still maintaining a rhyming structure. 

如果您希望听到单词发音更慢或更快，只需降低或提高播放速度即可。

If you wish to hear the words pronounced slower or faster, simply decrease or increase the playback speed.