Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Creating a language is no joke. Or, maybe it is, because I laughed a lot reading this book.

In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent

December 1, 2025 by KimMiE" 6 Comments

CBR 17 BINGO: Diaspora. The author uses the Jewish diaspora to illustrate the remarkable resurgence of Hebrew as a spoken language. You could also argue that Esperanto speakers form a diaspora. When you think of “invented” languages, you might immediately think of Esperanto, the late-19th century experiment in creating a universal language to bring people closer together. Or you might think about Star Trek geeks going all-in on their hobby by learning Klingon. Or you might ponder J.R.R. Tolkien’s elvish languages, created decades before he […]

Filed Under: Featured, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Arika Okrent, cbr17, cbr17bingo, Esperanto, KimMiE", Klingon, Languages, linguistics

KimMiE"'s CBR17 Review No:25 · Genres: Featured, Non-Fiction · Tags: Arika Okrent, cbr17, cbr17bingo, Esperanto, KimMiE", Klingon, Languages, linguistics ·
Rating:
· 6 Comments

Told in English and Chinese

Grandpa’s Magic Mask: A Story of Growth and Bravery in English and Chinese by Siping Wu

A House Just for Mommy: A Bedtime Story Told in English and Chinese by Dayong Gan

The Boy, the Deer, and the King: A Legend Retold in English and Chinese by Xiaochun Tang

Little Malan’s Debut: A Story of Courage Told in English and Chinese by Lumin Qian

November 22, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I do not speak a second language. As an adult, I regret not working harder on that, but I take solace in the fact that there are bilingual books out there and I can read the English part and admire the second language. Usually this is French or Spanish, but I have noticed that Chinese is taking its place. I’m not sure if the Chinese in these four books is Mandarin or Cantonese, so please let me know if you know! All will be available […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: animals, art, Asian, Chinese, coming-of-age, Dayong Gan, emotions, Fables, family, grandparents, Languages, legends, Lumin Qian, Multigenerational, music, myth, parents, rabbits, Siping Wu, Social Themes, Values & Virtues, Xiaochun Tang, Yue Opera

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:567 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion · Tags: animals, art, Asian, Chinese, coming-of-age, Dayong Gan, emotions, Fables, family, grandparents, Languages, legends, Lumin Qian, Multigenerational, music, myth, parents, rabbits, Siping Wu, Social Themes, Values & Virtues, Xiaochun Tang, Yue Opera ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

12 months of the year in English, French, Spanish and German

One Year: Une Année  Un Año  Ein Jahr by Ioana Stoain

November 15, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

There is a lot to love about the book One Year: Une Année  Un Año  Ein Jahr. There are adorable illustrations by Julia Leister that give things a bright, fun, and whimsical look. As the publisher’s description says, these  “retro-style illustrations” make things cozy and happy. The images tell you the month with the people’s clothing and actions, plus the weather is a great clue. I really enjoyed all of this until the whole point of the book. The four different languages. Ioana Stoain puts […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: Concepts, English, French, German, Ioana Stoain, Julia Leister, Languages, months, seasons, spanish

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:550 · Genres: Children's Books, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: Concepts, English, French, German, Ioana Stoain, Julia Leister, Languages, months, seasons, spanish ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Languages for the power

My Mother's Tongues: A Weaving of Languages by Uma Menon

July 19, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

My Mother’s Tongues: A Weaving of Languages is a clever story of a young girl and her family’s talents with languages. Well, her mother can speak two different languages. She has one for her mother and daughter, and another for the cashier. However, sometimes the two are mixed. And the young girl explores her family and how they learned to speak several languages, and what that means. The connection between the generations is sweet and the cultural connections are delightful to learn. Uma Menon introduces […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: Asia, Emigration & Immigration, English, family, grandmothers, India, Languages, Malayalam, mothers, Rahele Jomepour Bell, Social Themes, Uma Menon

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:537 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: Asia, Emigration & Immigration, English, family, grandmothers, India, Languages, Malayalam, mothers, Rahele Jomepour Bell, Social Themes, Uma Menon ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments


Recent Comments

  • Jaye Davidson
    on Failure to Launch
    I loved the book
  • vega-table
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    Appreciating the author's perspectives is a good way to think about this book. (And there really isn't anything to complain...
  • LittlePlat
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    By the sounds of it, if this book ended up on my holds list, I wouldn't complain; sounds like the...
  • person
    on This book, like a toot, if forced is probably s**t
    its a very interesting book, and also helps you imagine what school is like being the new kid, having bullies,...
  • Jen K
    on Lectures, Research Papers and Romance
    As Jonah would put it, “Relatable Content.”
See More Recent Comments »

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