Fun Bilingual Chinese and English Activities for The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse 《画了一匹蓝马的画家》 is a wonderfully imaginative children’s book by Eric Carle, inspired by the German Expressionist painter Franz Marc.
It’s one of our favorite read-alouds to spark creativity and remind kids that everyone can be an artist! With its bold colors and simple language, this story is perfect for young Chinese learners.
Keep reading to discover fun Chinese and English language and art activities we’ve created to pair with The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse — including free printables you can use with your kids at home or in the classroom!
Literacy Activities in English and Chinese for Kids
To support early language development, we focused on two key skills: vocabulary and retelling/sequencing — all in both English and Chinese!
After reading The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse 《画了一匹蓝马的画家》, introduce students to the animal names and color words featured in the story. This book is great for reinforcing color words like 蓝色 (blue), 红色 (red), 黄色 (yellow), and animal names like 马 (horse), 驴 (donkey), 猴子 (monkey), and 鳄鱼 (crocodile). You can review the vocabulary using our free bilingual flashcards.
Retelling and sequencing are important literacy skills for young learners because they help develop comprehension, memory, and oral language skills. After reading, children can use flashcards to retell the story by coloring the animals and arranging them in the correct order — in either Chinese or English!
Art Activities Inspired by the Story
1. Color Outside the Lines – Imagination Drawing
After reading the book, encourage kids to draw an animal not in its usual color — like a green dog 绿色的狗 or a purple giraffe 紫色的长颈鹿 ! This reinforces the idea that creativity has no limits and boosts color vocabulary in Chinese and English.
2. Color Collage Creatures
Provide kids with scrap paper in various bright colors and animal shapes. They can tear, cut, and glue the pieces to create colorful animals of their own imagination. Challenge them to label their creations in English and Chinese!
3. Colorful Podka Dotted Donkey Art Activity
Using our free donkey printable, your kids can decorate their donkeys with dot markers to make it bright, bold, and unique. Encourage them to use different colors and patterns to express their creativity—just like the imaginative animals in the book!
Bilingual Writing Activities for Young Learners
This bilingual writing activity is a fun and meaningful way to extend the story! After reading the story, your kids can draw their imaginative animal on the easel and complete the sentences following the same pattern:
“My name is __________. I am an artist. I painted _____________. I am a good artist.” “我的名字是__________。我是画家，我画了__________。我画得真好。
It’s a creative and confidence-building activity that supports early writing in English and Chinese.
Don’t Have the Book? Watch It on YouTube!
If you don’t have a physical copy of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse 《画了一匹蓝马的画家》, no worries! You can still enjoy this imaginative story with your students by watching a read-aloud video.
