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Little White Rabbit

by Kevin Henkes

Publishers Weekly Move over, "sunshine." Ogburn and Raschka give families a whole new vocabulary with which to express their love, exploring terms of endearment used around the globe. Impish, doe-eyed figures rendered in broad, calligraphic brushstrokes wear with pride terms like "ducky," used in England, and "kullanmuru," which means "nugget of gold" in Finland. Raschka forgoes painting his characters with black, brown, or white skin, instead using gleeful pinks, blues, teals, and greens. The phrases appear both in English and in their original languages (Cyrillic, Mandarin, and Arabic characters are included), with phonetic pronunciations provided for such terms as "xiao pie dou" ("little mischievous pea" in China) and "yeinay filiklik" ("my bubble of joy" in Ethiopia). The message about familial love being a universal human trait is clearly and joyfully articulated; it's hard to imagine a sweeter concept. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Book list 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.--Perkins, Linda Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

School Library Journal PreS-Gr 3-This collection of "sweet and silly names," spanning 14 languages and 6 continents, offers a beguiling smorgasbord of the ways that families around the world show their affection for their children. Some of the endearments will be familiar to American ears ("honey," "pumpkin," and "sunshine" in the U.S., "poppet," "ducky," and "love" in England, "mon petit chou" in France), but many more surely will be a revelation. They include, "little coconut candy" (docinho de coco) from Brazil, "little mischievous pea" (xiao pie dou) from Mandarin-speaking China, and "my bubble of joy" (yeinay filiklik) from Amharic-speaking Ethiopia. Each endearment is presented with its English translation, native language, pronunciation, and, where applicable, its non-Western characters or alphabetic spelling. Raschka's whimsical illustrations, drawn in ink, watercolor, and gouache on creamy flecked paper, exuberantly depict dozens of no-two-alike children, babies, and extended family members. A selective color palette in muted tones visually defines each nationality's page; the complete color spectrum is reserved for the jacket and concluding page, which express themes of world unity. Pair this with Mem Fox's Whoever You Are (Harcourt, 1997) for an effective and satisfying way of introducing the universal facets and feelings of childhood.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.