To Swim in Our Own Pond/Ta Ve Ta Tam Ao Ta: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs [Hardcover]

Ngoc Dung Tran (Editor), Xuan-Quang Dang (Illustrator)

Book Description

Twenty-two fun and witty proverbs are assembled together with their corresponding English translations and western equivalents. From generation to generation in Vietnam, these intriguing oral traditions are learned at mothers' knees; told in the mountains; whispered in the fields; murmured on the river banks; and floated amidst the reeds. It was the author's early childhood exposure to rhymes and poetry that has given him a lifelong fascination with proverbs that reflect on both the happy and the sad moments of his life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Tran has selected 22 familiar Vietnamese proverbs, drawn from both his childhood and an early 20th-century collection, and paired them with generally well-known Western equivalents. The Vietnamese "Good personality supersedes beauty," for example, is matched with "Beauty is only skin deep." The proverb in the original language is boxed in at the top of each page; beneath it is a soft, pastel watercolor illustration. A larger rectangle at the bottom presents the translation in boldface type and the Western equivalent. The deceptively simple, almost childlike paintings nicely convey the lifestyles and countryside of Vietnam. An author's note in both languages describes the collection and certain characteristics of Vietnamese proverbs; appended is a short introduction to the Vietnamese language.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The deceptively simple, almost childlike paintings nicely convey the lifestyles and countryside of Vietnam." -- School Library Journal

"The pictures offer a good portrait of Vietnamese lives, surroundings, and cultural idiosyncrasies." -- MultiCultural Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Shens Books; 1 edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885008082
• ISBN-13: 978-1885008084
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,463,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little bit weird, September 25, 2007

By 

M. Nguyen "VN Mamma" (CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: To Swim in Our Own Pond/Ta Ve Ta Tam Ao Ta: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs (Hardcover)

I tried reading this book to my kid. The problem is...I don't connect to the proverbs. I've never heard my parents use them. I don't really understand the words used. The explanation in English isn't too interesting.

It's not my favorite book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dust collector, January 7, 2008

By 

Keith F. Stewart "Caleb89015" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: To Swim in Our Own Pond/Ta Ve Ta Tam Ao Ta: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs (Hardcover)

I was not impressed at all. Not much effort was made to explain how and why the proverbs in Vietnamese and English match up. This one will sit on the shelf collecting dust.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting comparison of Vietnamese and Western Proverbs, June 9, 2007

By 

Karyn W "blckwidow8" (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: To Swim in Our Own Pond/Ta Ve Ta Tam Ao Ta: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs (Hardcover)

Proverbs are part of how we instill values in children. It is interesting to see that some values are global when seeing these Vietnamese ones. There are 22 proverbs that have very similar meanings just with different wording between the Western and Vietnamese versions. I recognized most of the Western ones and could relate with all of them. I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences and liked the illustrations that accompanied them.