Rebecca's Reviews > The Sixty Year Dream (Mandarin Companion Graded Readers: Level 1, Simplified Chinese Edition)

I'm definitely past the point of reading from these graded readers, but I figured it's not a bad idea to read one anyway to test myself on reading speed given the low overall level. Well, I was able to get through the book quickly - it took roughly an hour or so - but it got to the point where the repetitive phrases and sentences and super simple vocabulary was really annoying.

I still think Mandarin Companion is a decent series to get beginners to start reading, but after having read a few actual adult novels (yes, some parts were a struggle, but it was doable), going back to this was just painful - like going from high school lit to first grade picture books, except less fun. I think if Mandarin Companion series had more than two levels it would have a lot more potential in the language learning community, but as it stands, it's really good for people at the very elementary level and there just doesn't seem to be much benefit once you've passed that.

This version of Rip Van Winkle was okay and I think it's probably one of the more interesting adaptations in the series. I've read nearly all of them at this point since my library offers them as ebooks, and the two I liked best were The Country of the Blind and Journey to the Center of the Earth.