About this book
A little girl goes with her mother to the market, picks vegetables, helps carry them home, and cooks a simple meal together. The story introduces food names, shopping characters, and kitchen-action characters in short, repeated sentences.
一个小女孩跟妈妈一起去菜市场买菜，挑菜，提回家，一起做一顿简单的饭。故事用简短重复的句子介绍了食物名称、购物和厨房动作相关的汉字。
Vocabulary preview
Food, shopping, kitchen (食物、购物、厨房). Eight sample characters from the book with pinyin and English. The full book has 30-150 unique characters total.
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 菜 | cài | vegetables |
| 买 | mǎi | buy |
| 卖 | mài | sell |
| 鱼 | yú | fish |
| 肉 | ròu | meat |
| 苹果 | píngguǒ | apple |
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | rice |
| 好吃 | hǎochī | delicious |
How to read this book with your child
- Day 1 — Pictures first. Read the English translation and look at the illustrations together. Let your child notice what is happening in the story.
- Day 2 — Read with pinyin. Read the Mandarin aloud, using the pinyin as your guide. Point to each character as you read.
- Day 3 — Pick three words. Choose three characters from the vocabulary preview and use them in real life during the day.
- Day 4 — Point and listen. Let your child point to the matching picture as you read each sentence.
- Day 5 — Repeat one phrase. Ask your child to repeat one short phrase from the book after you.
- Day 6 — Full read-aloud. Read the full story in Mandarin with pinyin, end to end, without stopping.
- Day 7 — Retell. Ask your child to retell the story from the pictures. Any mix of Mandarin and English is fine.
For the full routine across all Little NiHao books, see the parent guide.
Parent questions
What age is this book for?
Helping Mom 2 is a Sprout level book for ages 4-5. It is designed as a follow-up to Helping Mom (Sprout 1) — same characters, new vocabulary theme.
How many characters will my child learn?
Helping Mom 2 introduces about 30-80 unique characters over 28 pages, focused on food names, shopping actions, and kitchen vocabulary. Vocabulary from Helping Mom 1 is reused in the second half of the book.
Does this book align to a specific language standard?
Helping Mom 2 aligns to YCT 1 (Youth Chinese Test level 1) vocabulary scope. Little NiHao is independent and not affiliated with Chinese Testing International.
Can my child use this book at the grocery store?
Yes. The market and kitchen arc makes the book especially useful for in-context learning at the grocery store, kitchen, or meal-prep time. Pointing to actual fruits and vegetables while reading is a great reinforcement.
Start with the Sprout Bundle
Five books at the same level for $9.99 — the best value for building vocabulary.
See the Sprout Bundle