A fine, informative read that may spur young readers to pursue more words unfamiliar to them.
Learn about words such as “pålegg” and “pochemuchka” in this handy assortment of words from around the world.
What makes a word untranslatable? Per Edwards, sometimes one-to-one translations simply don’t exist. Often, however, untranslatable words are “tied to a specific way of life,” naming certain moods and experiences inseparable from their cultures. For example, the Swedish “gökotta” describes an early morning full of singing birds, depicted in Uribe’s lush artwork as a person standing amid trees bathed in morning light. The text, meanwhile, presents a smattering of factoids about Sweden and Swedish culture (“forests cover 69% of the country”), offering some much-needed context. Next up is “verschlimmbesserung,” a German word expressing “a supposed improvement that makes things worse.” The author delivers some comical examples to explain it; in the illustration, a child “improves” on a portrait as a shocked adult watches in dismay. Each double-page spread follows this pattern. A word rests prominently on the page, with some text to sketch its origins or context, while the splendid pictures depict people from around the world. It’s a long and overstuffed collection, containing words that range from humorous (“friolero,” Spanish: “someone who is always cold”) to poignant (“hiraeth,” Welsh: “nostalgic longing for a homeland or past”). The included pronunciation guide gives tips aimed at a general English-reading audience, but a lack of sources for further reading obscures and limits the book’s worldly scope.
A fine, informative read that may spur young readers to pursue more words unfamiliar to them. (Informational picture book. 5-adult)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-61067-714-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This genuinely clever math book uses rhyming couplets and riddles, as well as visual cues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting. It’s a return to number sets, with none of those boring parentheses and <>signs. Here the rhyme gives a clue to the new ways of grouping numbers. For example: “Mama mia, pizza pie, / How many mushrooms do you spy? / Please don’t count them, it’s too slow, / This hot pie was made to go! / Let me give you some advice, / Just do half and count it twice.” A quick look at the pizza, and the reader can see each slice has the same number of mushrooms. Count by threes for half the pie, and double it. Each rhyme is given a double-page spread. The extra-large, brightly colored images leap off the page but never distract from the author’s intent. Some riddles are very challenging, but the author provides all the solutions in the back. Once the reader has seen the answers, the strategy is obvious and can be applied to other situations. Great fun for math enthusiasts and creative thinkers, this might also teach adults some new tricks. A winning addition. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-21033-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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