Library Notes / August 5, 2011
Dara L. Cain


Travel the World through Childrens' Books

Reading provides your child with a wonderful opportunity to travel through books without leaving the comforts of home. Below are some noteworthy books that will open up your child’s mind to different people, places, and things. An introduction to geography, language arts, and cultural heritage can be explored in these great titles:
Wouldn’t it be fun to explore animal sounds with your child in other languages? In the book Everywhere the Cow Says Moo by Ellen Slusky Weinstein your child can learn how to say dog, frog, duck, rooster, and cow in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. As you read the book you will be surprised to learn that the cow sounds the same in all four languages. This is a fun read that includes a list of the animals with their corresponding sounds, spellings, and pronunciations in each language.

A classroom of children receives gifts of clothing from aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents living around the world in the story The World Turns Round and Round by Nicki Weiss. Some of the special gifts received are cowboy boots from an aunt in Colorado, a furry hat from a babushka in Russia, a dashiki from a mjomba in Kenya, and a sari from a chachi in India. At the end of the book the classmates are shown wearing their gifts and looking at a globe. Included is a map to introduce the countries discussed in the book and a small glossary with pronunciations and definitions.

Have you ever met a finicky child who didn’t want to eat his food! In the story The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel the cook and his dog Max encounter a fussy young king who refuses to eat the cook’s food. In an attempt to satisfy the king the cook and Max travel the world in search of the most scrumptious delicacies including french fries from France, pizza from Italy, and chilli tacos from Mexico. The story will have you laughing when Max finally discovers what has been ruining the king’s appetite and a cook’s promise to tell the king’s mother if he doesn’t eat his food.

Calabash Cat is a West African cat whose curiosity leads him on a journey to find out where the world ends in the story Calabash Cat and his Amazing Journey by James Rumford. Each time Calabash Cat thinks he has found the end of the world he meets another animal: a camel, a horse, a tiger, and then a whale who takes him further. The cat travels through a desert, the grasslands, a jungle, and an ocean but it is not until he meets a wise eagle who carries him into the sky and shows him a world without end. This story is beautifully illustrated in the “calabash” style engraving from the African country of Chad.

Baby mouse has “gone missing” and mother mouse can not find him anywhere in the story Gorilla, Gorilla by Jeanne Willis. In pursuit of her baby a big, scary gorilla chases after mother mouse shouting “Stop!” In fear that she will be eaten mother runs far away to China, Australia, the Arctic, and western America in hopes of evading Gorilla and finding Baby Mouse. Young children reading the story will be delighted to learn that Gorilla never planned to eat Mother Mouse but was only trying to return Baby Mouse safely to her. This story provides a great introduction to various countries, landscapes, and types of transportation for your child to discover.