by Karl J. Paloucek
Whether you’re still feeling blown away by the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremonies, worried about the mounting U.S. debt to China or just like the idea of cute, little characters teaching your child Mandarin, you’ll be happy to know that Nick Jr.’s Ni Hao, Kai-lan is back for Season 2 starting May 11.
This season presents new challenges and goals for Kai-lan and her audience. Season 2 brings 20 new half-hour episodes that not only deal with building a basic Mandarin vocabulary, but also engage preschoolers’ increasingly complex emotional issues. In the first week alone, in addition to acclimating to the Mandarin expressions for various concepts like “arm,” “jump” and “mooncake” (makes you want to know, doesn’t it?), the show puts Kai-lan and her friends in situations that require them to learn about the importance of pitching in, forgiving when you’ve been wronged, and how to use humor to alleviate feelings of disappointment.
That’s not too bad for a bunch of little animated pals, is it?
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Photo:
Credit: Nick Jr.
