To Swim In Our Own Pond: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs (Vietnamese-English)

Author: Ngoc-Dung Tran
Illustrated by: Xuan-Quan Dang
Hardcover: 32 page(s)
Age Range: 4 - 8
Ontario curriculum: Language - Reading

Book Description:

When is the best time to train bamboo or dogs? East and West agree it is when they are young. When asking for a handout, should you demand chocolate cake or sweet rice? Or course, neither. These are not the only examples of how the two different cultures sometimes agree. This book contains a charming and illuminating collection of Vietnamese proverbs, all of which has Western equivalents.

Twenty-two fun and witty proverbs are assembled in Vietnamese, 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.

Each proverb is illustrated with lyrical and romantic watercolors that, in delicate tones, show the people and country of Vietnam lovingly. Every reader will find a feast of wit and beauty in these pages that convey the simple message of how much people are alike, no matter what their background or country may be.

School Library JournalTran 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.