TUESDAY'S TEACHER TALES FOR TOTS by Professor Bingo

WISH:

WISHING TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

by Roseanne Thong (Author) and

Elisa Kleven (Illustrator)

Children’s folk tales from 15 different countries make up this collection on customs involving wishing. Each small tale is a two page spread with a four-line poem and then is followed by a short paragraph that is simple to understand and explains what the folk lore is about. The illustrations use various forms of media in gorgeous deep and brilliant tones, and show the children and adults who live in the numerous country and city settings. Eerily, they give the feel of being a bit old-fashioned while in the same instance they also are rather modern in their feel.

When each story is told, the readers will recognize that some are traditional and religious in nature like the wishes made in Israel at the Wailing Wall, while others are as simple as a dandelion puff being blown around in Ireland. In South Africa, a striped weasel in Zulu villages can be the reason behind people’s wishing customs there. Other places where wishes are “explained” to a certain childlike degree are Japan, China, Russia, the United States, Iran, Australia, Italy, South and Central America and Thailand thus making the book also somewhat educational in nature. The customs and traditions are interesting and will be found to be unusual and make for a nice discussion with the child.

The stories are fun and provide hope for better lives through the wishes they convey. It includes a somewhat poorly explained lucky symbol game and there is not much in the way of a bibliography or references. However, children will enjoy the fun of it and the lovely, playful pictures that are beautifully done. Children will be entranced by the gorgeous illustrations and the feeling of hope they give that wishes can make the world a better place. This would make a wonderful gift for any child between the ages of 4-8 especially as it deals with multi-cultural issues in such a simple and loving way.

Submitted originally to Curled Up With A Good Kid's Book.com by K. H.