Spark Joy Learning Chinese with Free Audio Books! (Sharing 40+ books to read with Ximalaya 喜马拉雅)

After using the iPad gen 2 for 10yrs, we finally upgraded it last month!

That was the smartest move made. We considered if we should get a play station 4 for the kids to enjoy. Then hubs discussed with me and we decided iPad will be a better investment as it can cater to their growing up needs for school and play with free game apps. They will also have to learn to share with each other and take turns to use.

Our kids have not been exposed much to the online realm. Therefore, they are satisfied with any simple games on the iPad or comp. This new tech has brought much joy to us. Now, I began a new audio search to learning Chinese as our audio with the new iPad is excellent. Hubs also got an amplified speaker which enhanced the listening experience for the family.

I am most grateful to online resources that provide so much support to our Chinese learning! After reading much rave on Ximalaya by many, I hopped on the audiobooks wagon myself. What is Ximalaya? Read ST article to find out.

I had bookmarked Betty’s Free Audio Chinese Books on Ximalaya and downloaded the app on my ipad. Her concise instructions and information made it idiot-proof for a noobie like me. I knew audio was an essential ingredient to speed up learning Chinese, but was handicapped without a proper equipment.

The change was immediate. “Mummy, can I use Ximalaya to read?” begged J and E.

Our nightly chinese reading routine was no longer a chore. Eager beavers scrambled to get their hands on the physical books to listen with their iPad speaker of the day. Reading sparked joy with Audiobooks!

Imagine expert chinese story tellers, like radio DJs, reading word for word with animated voices and role-playing the characters of each story. Such dramatisation of the story bringing that storybook to a new level of vividness, drawing us into the plot of the story. That is the power and charisma of a great storyteller. However, certain books which are not so popular might only have average speakers. Here is a list of my chinese library at home. I spent hours searching for each book and compiling them for you with the Ximalaya website links.

After doing this list, I am amazed by how blessed we are to own such a wide range of quality picture and chapter books! Half of them were gifts by chinese book lover and pampering church aunties. The other half were loots from hubby’s China trips! The recent buys were from local bookstores or Tabao. The truth is, this trove of such picture book treasures have not been fully read by us. Mama here needs to stop every now and then to search for an unknown word in the midst of reading to my kids. This puts us off and also breaks the momentum of the story. This was the main reason why I painstakingly tried searching for books with HYPY.

The powerful thing about learning Chinese through this method is this;

Kids will

1. Build vocabulary as they are exposed to the rich content of the print and pronunciations.

2. Develop listening skills

3. Develop oral skills more competently

4.Increase attention span

5. Acquire new ways of expressing themselves with better intonation thanks to the dramatisation of the speakers.

We hit so many goals with 1 stone! Best of all, we can sit back and listen together with the kids without cracking our brains over unknown words.

Can you imagine my delight and elation when I discovered Ximalaya??! It was the key to unlocking all the treasureful of adventures to our lifeless shelf! Therefore, I am excited to share them with you! Here goes:

Read How to Download Free Audiobooks on Ximalaya App by Betty.

I have also downloaded on my android phone for use.

For those who wish to download the audiobooks offline to listen, check out Guavarama’s technical details here.

I reviewed these books 1-7 below on My favourite chinese books.

1）第519夜：武士与龙–Michael钱儿爸

2）孤单的小乌龟

3）馋人的糖果

4）【牛耳朵故事工厂】又有了一个弟弟 (This story teller is remarkably funny and witty!) A must listen!

5）经典绘本(60) – 子儿，吐吐 (Another hilarious one!)

6）【宝宝睡前故事】绘本故事-我好担心

7）新【宝宝睡前故事】绘本故事-阿文的小毯子

I also did a review of（ 8-10） this hilarious set of japanese books on the toilet bowl and bath tub and the pop-up ocean book over here.

8）我的神奇马桶

9) 我的百变浴缸

10) 海洋上下（立体书）

11) 小兔汤姆系列

You can look at the review of this set on my instagram story. This is one classic set that we go to daily even though it is fiction, the stories are relatable and interesting. My kids were actually upset that I had given a few books away to friends when they discovered Ximalaya had the audio of those we didn’t have! I got this set from mystorytreasury’s great recommendation.

This set of feelings book are great for Preschoolers.

12) 我的感觉系列

This set of 不一样的大自然绘本，(13-14) is a non-fiction description of the seasons in different context. They are good for 10yo and above. The speakers may be a bit dry as there is only 1 or 2 choices of story tellers.

13) 不一样的大自然绘本 : 农庄里的四季

14) 花园里的一年

15) 爱看书的男孩01（美国总统林肯的故事）

16) 故事剧场-我们的妈妈在哪里

17) 雪花人-文：杰奎琳·布里格斯·马丁 (science)

18）第801夜：有些时候我特别喜欢爸爸–晓月阿姨

19）《和爸爸一起读书》亲子阅读的爱之旅程

20）经典绘本(39) – 我哥哥

21）848、再见，小兔子（上）

849、再见，小兔子（下）

22）大脚丫学芭蕾 (dream and friendship)

23）【威利的奇遇】安东尼•布朗作品 有想象力的文学启蒙 (Art )

24）Willy the dreamer梦想家威利（中英双语）(Imagination)

25）威利的画 (Art)

26）形状游戏 (Art)

27）两棵树 (Friendship)

28）我妈妈

29）我爸爸

The Magic Treehouse series were borrowed from the library- code OSB. For this specific series, 1 to 8, they are in simplified Chinese whereas the other versions are in traditional Chinese. You can read the reviews at Guavarama. I could only find the below 5 books that has the complete 10 chapters. The others do not have the complete chapters.

30）神奇树屋·寻宝加勒比

31）神奇树屋·古堡惊魂夜

32）勇闯恐龙谷

33）勇斗剑齿虎

34）忍者的秘密

35）太空（趣味科普）

You can read my review of this series (36-37) Here. I highly recommend these 2 collections from mystorytreasury for 不一样的卡梅拉， and 名人绘本。

36）不一样的卡梅拉（第一季）【官方正版】

37）名人绘本 （you need to search for the relevant books in this category)

38) 蜜桃姐姐讲故事】_055_花婆婆

39）丁丁历险记 (Tin Tin series)

40）蓝精灵的故事 (Smurfs series)

41）贝贝熊系列故事 (Berenstein Bears Series)

Even if you don’t own these books, you can enjoy the audiobooks for free! Share this joy with your friends too. Let’s spread the love of Chinese reading!

For more Chinese Learning Posts

1. Free printable: Chinese Characters Illustrations Series 1
2. Free printable: Chinese Characters Illustrations Series 2
3. Free printable: Chinese Characters Illustrations Series 3
4. Learn Chinese with inspiring biographoes, comical chickens and more
5. Nightly Routine of reading Chinese Chapter books
6. Our Favourite Chinese Picture Books
7. Review of Chinese Comics, Chapter Books and More
8. Resourceful Ways to Help Children Learn Chinese (四五快读 and More)
9. Chinese Learning Video Series
10. 47 Chinese Qns to ask instead of How was your day?
11. Learning Chinese through a Chinese Translating App
12. Chinese Copy Cat 1
13. Growing In Touch with being a Chinese

—————————————————————————————————————————

If you enjoyed the post, help share this post and follow our journey at

Blog|Instagram | Facebook |Youtube Channel