Little Treasures: Endearments from Around the World [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Ogburn (Author), Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2012 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

A tender collection of endearments for children the world over.

All over the world, people express their love for their children through endearments, such as “sweetie pie” or “peanut.” A child might be called little angel, angelito, in Spanish or precious, bao bei, in Chinese or my sweet little moon, mera chanda, in Hindi.
Little Treasures offers a wealth of endearments in fourteen languages to share with your own beloved poppet and petit chou.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

“Little coconut candy” in Brazil, “little mischievous pea” in China, and “hug bunny” in Finland. Children are addressed with endearments in many cultures. This amusing sampling starts with the U.S. and provides loving terms from 16 other cultures. Each word or expression is written in the native language, accompanied by simplified pronunciation, and translated into English. Although slightly tilted toward European cultures, the selection includes sweet names from every inhabited continent. As the author explains in appended notes, the use of endearments is common but not universal. Lively ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations reflect the diversity without stereotyping. With a few brush strokes per figure, the pictures display a remarkable variety of people, nearly all of them smiling. Although the audience is primary-schoolers, older children will also find this an amusing, eclectic choice for diversity studies. Preschool-Grade 3. --Linda Perkins

Review

"An effective and satisfying way of introducing the universal facets and feelings of childhood."--School Library Journal "This will have obvious appeal for populations with large ESL groups, but it would also make an excellent gift book for your own honey/pumpkin/sunshine/babycakes."--Bulletin "Move over, "sunshine." Ogburn and Raschka give families a whole new vocabulary with which to express their love. ...The message about familial love being a universal human trait is clearly and joyfully articulated; it’s hard to imagine a sweeter concept." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A colorful catalogue of endearments for children spans the globe and expands awareness by showing how love is universal." --Kirkus

"Marvelous illustrations by the Caldecott winner Raschka and an inclusive look at expressions of love from Poland to Uganda. Little 'Light of My Hearts' (Arabic) and 'Little Fatties' (Chile) will relish the experience." --New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547428626
• ISBN-13: 978-0547428628
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 10.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Explore the World > Australia & Oceania

More About the Author

Writer Jacqueline K. Ogburn recently received her 15-minutes of fame when Daniel Pinkwater read the text of her most recent book, The Bake Shop Ghost, on the Weekend Edition - Saturday program on National Public Radio. "Delicious" said Daniel Pinkwater. "It's a yummy book."

Because of the broadcast, Ms. Ogburn was contacted by composer Jonathan Schwabe about turning the story into a musical. The two collaborated on the project and the play premiered at the Maud Powell Music Festival in June 2007.

The book was also made into an independent short film by Lorette Bayle and is being shown at film festivals, both nationally and internationally. The Bake Shop Ghost film stars Kathryn Joosten as the ghost of Cora Lee Merriweather and Mary Anne Jeanne Baptiste as Ann Washington. It premiered at the Seattle Film Festival in May 2009.

A North Carolina native, Ms. Ogburn received a bachelor's degrees in English and Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. For ten years, she worked in New York book publishing, primarily as a children's book editor. She is the author of eight picture books. Her previous book, The Magic Nesting Doll, received a starred review from "Publishers' Weekly" and has been translated into Greek and Korean.

In addition to her writing, Ms. Ogburn worked as a speech writer and public affairs specialist for the NC Department of Cultural Resources and was president of a small non-profit press. She has also taught writing at several venues, including the Friday Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. She currently works for the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in the Communications Office.

The Bake Shop Ghost combines her passion for stories and dessert. Her family's favorite recipe for birthday cake is the one included in the book. Ms. Ogburn, her husband and two daughters live in North Carolina, in an 85-year-old bungalow with too many books and a deaf cat.

Her website is at www.wincbooks.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly Endearing January 31, 2012

By A.Marie

Format:Hardcover

I'd like to begin by saying how much I love the illustrations! They're colorful sketches that capture the feel of each language/region in a way that's more authentic then what one would see in a Disney book.

For each endearment, you're given the English word(s), the term or phrase in the foreign language, and the pronunciation. Very helpful if you want to use the endearment with your own little HA-li-pu-pu (Hug Bunny).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Super cute book! April 4, 2012

By RZ

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I think I've read this book every night for a month . . . or since I gave the book to my daughter for Valentine's Day. Creative and fun!

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutest book December 1, 2012

By Leeshi

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Adorable book. Love reading this to my son and love learning bits and pieces of different languages! :)
Thank you.