Collected by Danielle Wright, illustrated by Mique Moriuchi, introduction by Michael Rosen,
My Village: Rhymes from Around the World
Gecko Press, 2008.

Ages 3+

In a world where language conveys powerful messages about attitudes and values, what better moment to introduce its many “looks and sounds” than the nursery years? My Village: Rhymes from Around the World, collected by New Zealander Danielle Wright and illustrated by British artist Mique Moriuchi (Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, Talk Peace), does exactly that: it brings together, in a beautiful multilingual volume, an array of nursery rhymes that introduces children to the languages and cultures of 22 countries, including Brazil, Zimbabwe, Norway and India.

Starting with a New Zealand poem called “Big Whale” and sing-songing its way across the globe, My Village perfectly communicates the potential of rhymes to become “companions for life”—something alluded to by the UK’s recent Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, in his beautiful and spot-on introduction to the book. Poetry translation, as we know, is highly challenging work, but the English versions of the rhymes in My Village are so enjoyable and scan so well that one can only marvel at the translators’ ability to capture the form and spirit of the originals.

The variety of verses in the book and the varied emotions they evoke, paired with Moriuchi’s playful collages, give this title more than enough rhyme and reason - and seeing original rhymes side by side with their translations (and in some cases, such as with the Chinese, Japanese and Iranian verses, a phonetic version in Roman script), is quite a treat for the eyes, too!

Published in 2008, UNESCO’s International Year of Languages, and selected for inclusion in the prestigious White Ravens 2009 catalogue, My Village is a perfect way to introduce children to the joys of rhymes and to our world’s rich tapestry of languages.

Aline Pereira
August 2009