CMF World Carnival at Cyberport - Maps, Globes, Peoples

Illustrated books open children's minds to a world full of wonders

Tuesday, 23 April, 2013, 11:09am

Annie Ho
life@scmp.com

The fact that life extends far beyond Hong Kong pervades our home. We have a toy globe, a desk mat printed with a map of the world and framed photos from my children's visits abroad.

This global awareness hasn't stopped my elder daughter from telling her friends while I was away in the United States that her mummy had gone to Germany, or that her very British teacher is from America.

Much like many cities in China end with zhou (Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Wenzhou), the Chinese names of major countries end with guo, hence my daughter's erroneous proclamations. Surprisingly, she remembers the country wrongly but is able to translate it into its correct English name.

A map of the world is a handy tool at home. I used it to show my daughter the proximity of Madagascar to the African continent, to help her understand that the animals from the animated movie with that name are much like the African safari animals she studied in school. I also pointed to the Caribbean when she asked why Raffi was singing Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) in pidgin language.

After seeing my daughter and her friend drawing their own maps on a recent play date, I picked up a copy of Joan Sweeney's Me on the Map to share with them. This picture book starts with simple crayon drawings of a floor plan of a girl's room, then progresses to more and more complex renderings of her street, town, country and, finally, the world.

Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton further explores maps with an introduction to such terms as latitude, longitude and elevation. It even covers the history of mapmaking, informing schoolchildren that maps are not always accurate.

A favourite in our home is People by Peter Spier, with its detailed illustrations and sparse text. Differences are celebrated and accentuated as they are presented in clusters of illustrations in this large-format book. At the beginning, there are 10 depictions of mothers with their babies, each with different ethnic dress and various ways the babies are held or carried.

Also included is a two-page spread with two dozen types of games played in different countries. Another cluster shows two dozen homes, from an American tepee to a Turkish cliff-dwelling to a Swiss chalet.

On the subject of occupations, teachers and doctors are conspicuously absent. Instead, we are treated to illustrations of a matador, gondolier, snake charmer and tea-leaf picker, among other global workers.

Spier focuses on many other subjects that children care about: the kinds of pets that different peoples keep, the feasts and holidays celebrated around the world, the foods from different cultures.

Parents can introduce their children to world travel through fun and games at the CMF World Carnival at Cyberport on May 5. Children can purchase "passports" that they can use to collect stamps at various "continents" set up at the fairground. For more information, go to cmf.org.hk

Annie Ho is board chairwoman of Bring Me A Book Hong Kong, a non-profit organisation dedicate to improving children's literacy by reading aloud to them bringmeabook.org.hk

Wordless Storybooks: Caldecott, Chris Raschka, Peter Spier

Books without words can be perfect for developing storytelling Annie Ho familypost@scmp.com  I recently attended a read-aloud training workshop in a community centre on the other side of town, where the participants were primarily mothers from low-income families. A question came up from a mother regarding her own reading skills.  As she did not have a lot of formal schooling, she worried that when reading aloud to her child, she would come across too many words that she didn't know. One of my immediate reactions was admiration for this mother. She was aware of her own limitations, and yet she was still keen to improve herself and play a role in expanding her child's mind through books. The workshop leader said that reading aloud is not about verbatim reading and perfect pronunciation. It's completely acceptable, and often more enjoyable, to deviate from the text and add your own words. She also had a great tip for all parents reading aloud to children: to be familiar with the book by reading it on your own first. Such familiarity can prevent stumbling across unfamiliar text, and help you ask your child the right questions for a more interactive storytelling session. Wordless picture books are another wonderful alternative for parents who are not proficient readers. These books can capture the attention of impatient toddlers as well as spur the imagination of older children to come up with different storylines at each 'reading'. The Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 by the American Library Association for the best illustrations in children's picture books. This year's honour went to a wordless picture book: A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka.  Through simple watercolour illustrations, it tells the story of a little dog who loses her favourite ball when a bigger dog destroys it. Every child who has ever encountered the loss of a cherished item will relate to the little dog Daisy's realisation that something she loves is gone for good. Children will understand the ways she copes with the devastating yearning for her big red ball. One of my favourite wordless picture books is Peter Spier's Rain by Peter Spier, whose illustrations are incredibly rich in detail. Spier has authored a number of children's books with very little or no text, including Noah's Ark, which is also a Caldecott Medal winner. Rain depicts the course of one rainy day. The first pages start with an older sister and a younger brother playing in the backyard, then running into the house as the rain starts to pour down. The illustrations are detailed, and some pages contain half a dozen different scenes on one page. The storytelling possibilities are endless. When my daughter was two years old, our focus was on the colour of the rain boots and pointing to familiar animals like dogs, cats and birds. When she was three, I used the illustrations to introduce new words. Now at age four, my daughter loves to see this visual sequence of a single day, ending with the children getting ready for bed.  Rain resonates with me because it bears a strong resemblance to how I remember my youth. It reminds me of my childhood in Vancouver, and inspires memories of long summer days spent with my brother.  Visual narratives help children to understand and follow a storyline. Even though 'a picture is worth a thousand words', it takes a gifted illustrator to use pictures to tell a story. Would it be too banal to rephrase the adage as, 'A coherent series of pictures is worth a million words'? Annie Ho is a board governor of Bring Me A Book Hong Kong, a non-profit organisation devoted to improving child literacy through reading aloud to them and providing easy access to the best children's books for underserved communities across Hong Kong