Written by: Jacqueline K. Ogburn
Illustrated by: Chris Raschka
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Published on: January 3, 2012
Ages: 3+
What's your endearment? I call adult friends hon and darling, and my kids are chibis or, inspired by a certain picture book, Stinky Face.
Both my kids and I love to hear what endearments other families have. How fabulous is this book? It teaches us just that, in a trip around the world. Sometimes simple is best, and this is really just a simple, quality book that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling.
I love the way the different languages are incorporated- they use the local characters, whether Hindi varnamala or Slovak alphabet, then an English pronunciation guide, and then a translation. I love that Ogburn included all those different characters! An extra bonus is the geographical attention paid, as Ogburn makes it clear that some countries have a number of different languages (like Eithiopia)
My son loves that some Chilean parents call their babies "little fatty" (and who doesn't love those fat pre-crawling thighs?) and my daughter was quite taken with the Finnish endearment "hug bunny". I like them all. :)
Raschka's diverse cast of kids and parents really adds to the endearing qualities of the book. So many different people with all colours and shapes of hair - and every single one is cute.
This post is for Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week by The LibrarYAn.
We have a rich system of nicknames that have evolved over time, but I most often call my children "sweetie" or "sweet pea" it seems. Then they have like twenty other nicknames on top of that at any given time. I like how Czechs say "ladybug" or "little monster" - both are equally affectionate. :) My husband calls both children "little bug".
ReplyDeleteI always say "Hey, pumpkin!" to my kids when they come home from school, but I'm not sure how or why that became the endearment of choice.
ReplyDeleteFun bokk choice!
I'm so glad you too are a "language geek" -- and you shared this book with us! Such a sweet concept -- and, yes, I like to use the word "sweetie."
ReplyDeleteI love Little Treasures - lovely idea for a book.
ReplyDeleteWithout even thinking, I call a lot of kids honey or sweetie - but I have just enough Southern in me that I think it works. I'll be looking for this book at my library!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a lovely book. I picked up the Greek habit of making diminutives -- Alexandraki for my little Alexander.
ReplyDeleteI have a habit of calling anyone who looks like they aren't in double digits yet 'sweetie', but Xander has his own special nickname of 'panda'.
ReplyDeleteDid the book mention the French habit of calling people you love 'ma petit chou'? It translates to my little cabbage, I always found that funny.
What a wonderful idea for a kinds book!
ReplyDeleteI always called my little cousin "magoo" but I honestly don't remember where I got it from...
Sounds like a sweet book. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so lovely to take an item/concept that is universal and then share the particulars of it around the world. Like Linda Sue Park's book about animal sounds (can't recall the title right now). But it's just a great way to celebrate both diversity and tolerance!
ReplyDeleteI often call kids sweetie. My students would love to hear someone called “stinky face”. I‘m sure they would find that hilarious.
ReplyDeleteOh, I have to get this one!
ReplyDeleteThe premise reminds me of the book, THROW YOUR TOOTH ON THE ROOF- a book that shares what kids around the world do when they loose a tooth.
This is great--I totally forgot about I Love You Stinky Face and you have reminded me to pick it up again, along with the other book, which sounds very sweet. We have called our older daughter Buddy since she was about 2 months old. After 5 years of this, the nickname has kind of spilled over and now I call pretty much every kid Buddy. Our younger daughter we call Nugget. I have no idea how she came by this name, but it fits her to a T!
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