Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Following a brief definition of “endearments,” this playful text introduces an abundance of terms used in fourteen different languages/countries/cultures around the world. Each page gives several examples from a particular country, providing definition and pronunciation for each term. The endearments vary from the fanciful (Amharic-speaking families in Ethiopia may call their little ones “yeinay filiklik,” which means “my bubble of joy”) to the funny (Brazilian Portuguese uses “docinho de coco,” which means “little coconut candy”) to the deep (one Arabic term translates to “part of my existence” and another to “light of my heart”). The text exudes affection, with the worldwide tendency of families to love their children both discussed and demonstrated throughout. Raschka’s striking ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations use only a few colors for each spread, with the hues in the exuberant figures while the background remains a creamy sand. Though the figures are gestural, with Raschka’s familiar broadly painted informal line, they’re often faithful to the terms (“little fatty” is in fact a bit chubby, while “dumpling” is round and somewhat smushy in appearance). This will have obvious appeal for populations with large ESL groups, but it would also make an excellent gift book for your own honey/pumpkin/sunshine/babycakes. An author’s note provides some information on the selection and vetting process incorporated. [End Page 269]