My First Book of Vietnamese Words
An ABC Rhyming Book of Vietnamese Language and Culture
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
**Winner Creative Child Magazine 2018 Book of the Year Award**
**2017 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention for Children's Literature**
My First Book of Vietnamese Words is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces Vietnamese language and culture to young children through everyday words.
This Vietnamese children's book teaches in a playful way--combining the familiar ABC rhyming structure with vivid illustrations to encourage young children's natural language learning abilities. Words kids use every day in English are joined by words unique to Vietnamese culture to give kids a glimpse of Vietnamese life and to show how, despite cultural differences, children all over the world have a lot in common.
Linguistic and cultural notes are added to enhance the kids' adventure in a land that's modern yet filled with beautiful traditions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Readers gain a useful introduction to the Vietnamese language, alphabet, and culture in this companion to similar books on Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, and other Asian languages. An opening note details the differences between the Vietnamese and English alphabets, as well as how diacritical marks affect the pronunciation of vowels. Although the Vietnamese alphabet has 29 letters and doesn't include f, j, w, and z, Tran uses the familiar 26 English letters as she moves through the alphabet; the rhythms of the verse can be somewhat rocky ("I is for t./ Filled with coconut and mung bean/ is a rice flour ball/ in a banana leaf so green"), and the Nguyens' scenes of Vietnamese life are somewhat stiff and posed. But supplemental cultural details, included in brief asides, add valuable context to a book with few competitors on bookstore shelves. Ages 3 8.
