Welcome to That's My Language!

WELCOME!!!!!!!

Bienvenue!!! 환영!!! Willkommen!!! Bienvenida!!! 欢迎!!!

This is the very first post in 'That's my language!', a blog that showcases the language diversity on offer from the Ku-ring-gai Library Picture Book collection. From absolute beginners, to children who have had some exposure to another language there is something for every family here. In this blog we will explore picture dictionaries and basic word books, to legends and fables, and classic picture books in another language. Most of the books are in English, so parents won't have any problem following them! We are going to present books in French, Spanish, German, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, , and Auslan. Please let me know if there are any great books I have overlooked. Cheers!

BB

The Dragon's tears

Yŏngŭi nunmul = The dragon's tears / story by Manju Gregory ; pictures by Guo Le. Gregory , Manju Guo , Le London : Mantra, 2001. [25] p. : col. ill. ; 24 cm.

Lovely watercolour illustrations, some across doubles pages, largeish size, quite texty, folk arty style. Story about how the 24 lakes were created. A boy who catches a talking fish who coughs up a magical pearl in return for its freedom. When the townsfolk become jealous of its powers, the boy swallows the pearl… and turns into a dragon...Good for slightly older readers.

Dear zoo

Dear zoo (Chinese, simplified) / Rod Campbell.
Campbell, Rod, 1945-
Dual language ed.
London : Milet, 2005.
1 v. : col. ill. ; 17 cm.

A classic little kids book. A child writes to the zoo for a pet. The zoo send a series of unsuitable pets, revealed behind flaps in the form of crates and packing cases. These animals are all sent back for different reasons, except the last one, which is ideal. Simple drawing easy for kids to understand. A good way to introduce another language.

Father

Papás / by Lila Prap
Prap, Lila, 1955-
New York : NorteSur, 2007
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 25 cm


We have this picture book in English, French and Spanish, an indication of its superb 'read-aloudability.' Illustrations and rhyming text portray a father and son pretending to be animals, from rhinos to monkeys, as they stomp and swing and roar their way to bed. Lovely stuff with simple illustrations for the littler kids.

The little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear.

El ratoncito, la fresa roja y madura y el gran oso hambriento / por Don y Audrey Wood ; ilustrado por Don Wood ; traducido por Teresa Mlawer.
Wood, Don, 1945-
Wood, Audrey
New York : Child's Play (Spain), 1996.
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 27 cm.

The Little Mouse will do all he can to save his strawberry from the Big, Hungry Bear, even if it means sharing it with the reader.  Little Mouse loves strawberries, but so does the bear...How will Little Mouse stop the bear from eating his freshly picked, red, ripe delicious looking strawberry? Interesting illustrations.

Princess smartypants

Princess Smartypants = C℗Ơong chua Smartypants / by Babette Cole.
Cole , Babette
London : Magi, 1992, c1986.
[32] p. : col. ill. ; 21 x 24 cm. 495.922 COLE

Cute precise illustrations, people with funny expressions, exaggerated emotions will appeal to children particularly girls maybe, bright colours, featuring a ‘modern;’ princess, situations like shopping and so on. Story about a Prince who is turned into a toad, and A Princess with attitude.

We're going on a bear hunt

We're going on a bear hunt. Chinese and English / retold by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
Rosen, Michael, 1946-
Oxenbury, Helen, 1938-
London : Mantra, 2005.
1 v. (unpaginated) : col. ill. ; 26x29 cm.


"We're going on a bear hunt. / We're going to catch a big one. / What a beautiful day! / We're not scared." The whole family embarks on a good old fashioned bear hunt, with all the trials and tribulations that entails. The much loved classic tale is translated for the Chinese bilingual market. The wonderful watercolour illustrations often range across two pages, and capture the movement and emotion of the children well. But was the fantastic journey real or imagined? A real winner, for the story and the illustrations.