Being a Chinese-American mom, I was so excited when Nick Jr introduced their children's animated series Ni hao, Kai-Lan. Our children, who are half Chinese, do not have much contact with the Chinese culture other than with their maternal grandparents. I was very interested to see what the content would include in this series.
On July 14th of 2009, a new Kai-Lan DVD was released titled "Kai-Lan's Great Trip to China", which features a double-length episode by the same name. My 5yr old son, who embraces learning about all different cultures, was very excited at the prospect of watching a brand new story about Kai-Lan. There are also two other episodes included on the DVD . . . Rain or Shine and The Ant Playground.
What my son and I thought about this Ni Hao, Kai-Lan DVD:
1) Just as in another Nick Jr favorite Dora the Explorer, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan teaches children common words and phrases in another language, in this case Mandarin. I was concerned that my son would be confused about the dialect because my parents always speak in Cantonese. I was very pleased to find that there were many Mandarin words that sounded similarly to the same words in Cantonese.
2) In addition to the language, this show introduces the most prominent aspects of Chinese geography and culture, including food and native animals. It shows children that trying new things, such as foods from other cultures, can be fun and exciting.
3) My son was shocked when he recognized some of the foods and also some of the words the characters in the cartoon were introducing to the viewers. He was especially pleased when he heard the words for maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother.
4) On this DVD, my son's favorite episode was Kai-Lan's Great Trip to China. His favorite part of this episode was the seeing and learning about the adorable Baby Panda.
If you like introducing your child to different cultures, this DVD will help accomplish that. It is colorful and fun and will draw your child in easily.
If you'd like to learn more about Kai-Lan, visit NickJr.com . You can purchase this DVD in the NickShop or most places where children's DVDs are sold both online and locally.
Thank you to Nickelodeon for providing us with a review product free of charge.