A World of Wisdom: Fun and Unusual Phrases from Around the Globe

by James Chapman

Overview

A brightly illustrated comic guide to sayings and expressions from around the world, comparing the ways different cultures interpret the same ideas.

You might say that an annoying person is called “a bad apple,” but Venezuelans would call them “a pineapple under the arm.” On a wet day, you might think “it’s raining cats and dogs,” but the rest of the world has some different ideas on what’s falling from the sky. This book looks at the unique ways different languages express common ideas like “too many cooks spoil the broth” and getting stuck “between a rock and a hard place,” as well as unique sayings about cats, beards, dancing, and much, much more. With over 330 illustrated phrases from Vietnam to Venezuela, A World of Wisdom is a fun and funny guide to all the phrases you might ever need!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524861469
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dr. James Chapman is an illustrator and writer who has always been interested in language. He is the author of Sounds All Around, and the creator of the webcomic series, Soundimals, which explored the sounds animals make in different languages around the world. He lives in Manchester, UK.
 

Editorial Reviews

2021-08-18
A browsable book exploring common English-language proverbs and idioms and some of their counterparts in a variety of countries.

Originally a Kickstarter project, this book collects hundreds of idioms and phrases from the English language and contrasts them with their counterparts in many other countries and cultures, from Armenia and Argentina to Sierra Leone and South Korea. An introduction provides brief definitions of proverbs and idioms, as well as why it is important to explore cultural differences among languages, before diving in. Most phrases are allocated a single page with a large illustrative cartoon; the English-language translation appears in an all-caps header, with the phrase in the original language and the nationality attribution just below it, along with an interpretation. Double-page spreads exploring interpretations of one specific phrase (for example, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play”) feature multiple quoted phrases translated to English with their nation of origin in parentheses, with the quote in its originating language included in the backmatter. There are no source notes or information on how these phrases were gathered and translated. Friendly, silly cartoon illustrations stylistically akin to Mike Lowery’s include racially diverse humans, but most wear nondescript Western attire, and their character designs do not relay the diversity of ethnicities represented in the idiom choices. Perplexingly, some illustrations actively misinterpret the phrase’s meaning.

It’s not perfect, but it holds appeal for casual perusal. (Nonfiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews