FICTION

My First Book of Vietnamese Words: An ABC Rhyming Book of Vietnamese Language and Culture

by Phuoc Thi Minh Tran
illus. by Nguyen Thi Hop & Nguyen Dong. 32p. Tuttle. Aug. 2017. Tr $10.95. ISBN 9780804849074.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—This book by the team that produced the award-winning Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, provides cultural tidbits, values, and traditions in captions, with rhymes (and occasionally strained meter) in large type for young readers. There are two pages of pronunciation help, though no mention of the six possible tones that combine with the diacritics. As with other related books from the publisher (My First Book of Hindi Words), images and boldface type allow readers to connect the Vietnamese word with its English meaning, and a word list at the end confirms the association. The clear, delicate line-and-color illustrations in soft neon depict smiling children, usually enjoying food or play.
VERDICT Despite the challenges of Vietnamese language and uncertain meter, this book is a lovely tribute to a culture and its people. A valuable addition to a language and geography collections.
Reviewed by Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly at St. George's School, Newport, RI , Aug 01, 2017

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