One way to get closer to a country’s culture is to explore its proverbs and idiom. Being fans already of illustrator Axel Scheffler, we couldn’t resist his Proverbs from Far and Wide (Macmillan, 2001) when I came across it recently.
Scheffler depicts facial expressions with a cartoonist’s eloquence, whether on humans or other animals, and he really comes into his own here in conveying the meaning of each proverb through its accompanying vignette. The people are all shown wearing the traditional costumes of the proverb’s country of origin, which contributes to the global feel of the book; and the universality of humankind is communicated by the gathering of the proverbs into categories like “Friend or Foe?”, “What Happens Next?” or “That’s Not Fair”. Some of the gems included are:
Those who have one foot in the canoe and one in the boat are going to fall in the river - Tuscarora
A hasty man drinks tea with his fork - India
If I peddle salt, it rains; if I peddle flour, the wind blows - Japan
Trust in God, but tie your camel. - Persia
You cannot find a striped squirrel in every fence pole - North America
All in all, this is delightful book for introducing small - and not so small - children to some great expressions from different cultures… And it has got me looking around to see what other similar books there are out there for children. Here are a couple I’ve spotted and would love to know more about - if you know them, do tell us about them:
Tigers, Frogs and Rice Cakes: A Book of Korean Proverbs by Daniel D. Holt, illustrated by Soma Han (Shen’s Books, 1999);
Mi primer libro di dichos / My First Book of Proverbs by Ralfka Gonzales and Ana Ruiz (Children’s Book Press, 1995)
I’ve also come across Many Ideas Open the Way: A Collection of Hmong Proverbs by Randy Snook - it’s out of print now but there are some fun images here, although you don’t get to see the original Hmong as you would in the book…