Reviews (13)

Excellent book for adoptive parents of Russian children!
This picture book was great because we could look at it together with our Russian son. He helped us pronounce the words in Russian as we taught him the words in English. I highly recommend it for parents going to Russia to adopt. Very comprehensive. Great illustrations. (I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because it was lacking accents in the pronunciation guide; hence I didn't know which syllable to accent for best pronunciation. I would recommend that the next edition show which syllable is accented; then it would certainly merit 5 stars!)

two major shortcomings
As a beginning student of Russian I thought this book might be a good vocabulary builder, and for the most part that is true. The illustrations aren't always sufficient to identify the word depicted, but there is an English translation in the back so that's only a minor annoyance. Another minor annoyance is that words are given in either singular or plural form, whereas it would have been nice if both were included.

However, I found two major shortcomings relating to pronunciation. One that has been mentioned in the other reviews is the lack of anything indicating stress, which could easily have been done with either accent marks on the word itself or by capitalizing the accented syllable in the phonetic rendering (PEESma).

The other major shortcoming is that certain vagaries of pronunciation aren't taken into account, such as the devoicing of a consonant at the end of a word (e.g. the word for iron would be more correctly rendered as "ootyook" rather than "ootyoog") and the assimilation of consonants when they occur together ("foodbol" rather than "footbol").

I still would recommend this book but I also recommend getting a good dictionary that shows word stress and making sure you learn the rules of pronunciation and take them into account.

I Didn't Buy the Book Because...
...the words are not stressed. For beginners who don't have a native Russian speaker around to pronounce the words for them, it is absolutely essential that each word show the vowel that is stressed. Normally, in textbooks for beginning Russian students, this is done by placing a stress mark over the stressed vowel. Unfortunately, this book does not do that. Like English, Russian words are pronounced quite differently depending on the placement of the primary stress. The reader of this book will not know, for example, how the word "aftobus" ("bus" in English) should be pronounced: AHf-to-boos, ahf-TO-boos, or ahf-to-BOOS. The correct pronunciation is ahf-TO-boos. No doubt most American speakers, analogizing from "automobile" (AW-tuh-muh-beel), would pronounce it AHf-to-boos. And is the word for "watch" pronounced "CHAH-see" or "chih-SEE"? The latter is closer to the correct pronunciation. But without a sress mark to show this, how is one to know? In addition, in conversation most speakers of Russian nowadays pronounce the consonant "shch" not as sh + ch (as in "freSH CHeese"), but as a fronted "shsh" (as in "I wiSH SHe wouldn't do that"). Although the concept of the dictionary is good, because of the lack of stress marks I don't think it's worth buying.

Absolutely Wonderful
Finally a language book that teaches practical vocabulary that isn't always found in the textbooks.

With large comic book style pages, vocabulary items are depicted in a color drawing that covers most of the page. On the page borders are small individual depictions of the vocabulary items with the name beneath it in Russian, there are no English translations (except in the glossary) because none are ever needed.

For example; the first page shows a color drawing of various rooms in a house. One room is the bath. The border of the page will have a picture of a toilet and its name beneath in Russian, then it is shown in the context of the bathroom without a label so the reader can self quiz.

An excellent resource!, good for beginner to intermediate level readers.

Wonderful Illustrations, Keeps Attention!
My husband is a native Russian speaker and speaks only this language to our 2 yr. old. This book has ended up being our son's FAVORITE book. He loves the illustrations (so do I) and will look at one page for a good 10 minutes. I helps me brush up on my Russian also.
I must add, however, that if you are a BEGINNER to the Russian language this book won't teach you how to correctly pronounce the words. Words are spelled out phoenetically but do not include any clues as to pronunciation. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

Mostly American songs, with a lot of English, not Russian
My husband, who is Russian, reports that the songs on this are not traditional Russian, to his knowledge, and don't even sound like they might be Russian songs. Many of them are obviously American -- "America the Beautiful" -- and there is a lot of English singing taking up the tape, rather then repeating the Russian verse two or three more times. The Russian itself is well spoken, but for learning traditional Russian children's songs, this is not a good tape.

A must for adopted children
As an adoptive parent and the founder of Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. I highly recommend this tape for your adopted child. We adopted our daughter from Russia and she is so into learning her culture and very proud to be able to sing Russian songs. I highly recommend enhancing your child's culture by buying this tape.

Fun Russian Songs
This book & tape uses traditional Russian songs, in addition to songs my daughter all ready knew in English, which she now knows in Russian as well! I was skeptical at first, but now I think it's a great teaching method.

LOVE IT!
My husband, Jim, and I adopted a little 3 year old boy, Steven, from Russia last year. Of course, being three, he spoke Russian as his native language. He had never even heard English until he met us. Now, eight months later, he speaks fluent English. However, I did not want him to lose his Russian speaking skills. As Jim and I only speak a few Russian parenting phrases, we could not really build on his skills.

My sister discovered Teach Me Russian and bought if for us. I put it in the stereo for Steven to hear. I was concerned as it started playing as he sometimes gets tense when he hears people speaking in Russian. But my concerns were needless. He looked up at me and had the biggest grin on his face. He said, "I like this one Mama!"

We often play classical or relaxing music for him as he settles in bed after his bath and reading time. Now when Jim goes to start the stereo he says, "Papa, can I hear the FUNNY one" (Meaning the Russian one)....After a couple of days, I said, "Steven, it's not FUNNY, it's Russian". So now he says, Papa, can I hear the Russian one"....I thought he understood that Russian was another language until the other day when he was watching a cartoon and I said, "That's FUNNY!" He looked up at me and said, "That's not FUNNY Mama, that's RUSSIAN!" I cracked up. I guess he's too young to understand we speak many languages on this Earth, but he's not too young to know he loves your tapes.

While I understand the primary use for your tapes is to teach children other languages, I think it is a wonderful comforting tool for internationally adopted children. International adotption is a humanitarian cause which is helping children all over the world. As Americans in a land of pleanty we have so much to share. So much love, opportunity, and good will to give. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

To help you understand you kids!
My husband is Russian and my kids understand and speak Russian, This tape and book helped me learn to pick out words when I hear them in a conversation. Now my in-laws have conversations and I answer them in English.

Also my daughter loves singing the songs.

Russian for the younger set
I thought this was a very cute introduction to Russian. The tape is a great idea because you can tell if you are pronouncing words and phrases correctly. It could have been improved by using traditional Russian songs instead of translated American songs. Also--I could live without the guy oversinging the songs in English. All in all, a very good way to support your child's interest in Russian language. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

unique collaboration
Here Comes the Cat is an exciting collaboration between an American writer and a Russian illustrator. Both Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin play their parts distinctively. The story is filled with suspense, exciting action, and a thought-provoking reversal. The mice characters, representing humans of many ethnicities, react to the news of an approaching cat. The words, found in text balloons, repeat the exclamation, "Here comes the cat!" Yet in every case, we find them in both English and Russian. Signs on stores, also in both languages, offer a wider variety of reading opportunities. The book introduces first-grade readers to the concept of translation. All the visual elements of the book, from the calligraphic text to the full-page illustrations, have a strong and authentic Russian style. The art is excellent.

"10-star" childrens' book in English and Russian!
A little Mouse, aloft in his balloon, sees an ominous shadow approaching the country of his people! Fleeing homeward, he cries warning to every Mouse he meets: "Here comes the Cat! Ciuda idyot Kot!" Soon the alarm is being passed from one to the other, until the entire Mouse population awaits in dread the arrival of the Cat. What will happen when Mice and Cat come face to face? Something quite unexpected! Significantly, this lovely little book is the creation of two authors, one American and the other Russian. After meeting in 1986 at a Soviet/American childrens' book symposium, they decided to collaborate on a tale with a message of harmonious coexistence. Vladimir Vagin's exquisite, highly-detailed, colorful paintings must be seen to be appreciated. And Frank Asch's story of fear and friendship will warm the hearts of adults and children lucky enough to read "Here Comes the Cat!" ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Not bad for the Price!
I found this book to be quite helpful and to the point. It's aranged in catagories so you can quickly find what your looking for. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

harasho!
This book allows you to study advanced Russian in your car without the aid of a textbook. This book also contains two additional cassette tapes (Vocabulearn)to expand your vocabulary. I've studied Russian before, and now I study English, so this book is very useful for me! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book contains a factual error in its first sentence!
I think Jim Haskins had a cute idea and was more interested in making a quick buck than in getting the facts right.

The first page of the Russian counting book contains a glaring factual error: There is NOT only one Kremlin in Russia. In addition to the one in Moscow, there is a white brick kremlin in the Tatar capital, (cf http://www.kcn.ru/tat_en/kazan/kazkreml.html); Kremlins were very common in the 8-15th centuries throughout Russia, and were usually built of wood. The Moscow and Kazan' kremlins have survived b/c they are stone. There may be others; I am not an expert...

pyhat stars
I purchased this book for my son and liked it so much I purchased chihteereh more, for other friends whom children are from Russia as well. An informational, introduction to 1-2-3's in russian. ... Read more

Book Description

Colloquial Russian is easy to use and completely up-to-date, with no prior knowledge of the language required. These CDs are recorded by native Russian speakers and will play on any audio system. The material can be used on its own or to accompany the book, helping you with pronunciation and listening skills. ... Read more