Poetry Friday: Time to Eat!
Whenever I visit Jama’s Alphabet Soup, I feel hungry – and today is no exception! She’s hosting today’s Poetry Friday with a bowl full of peaches, as well as a poem to go with them, to feed the soul!
The poem I’ve chosen today is about food too – but it’s an elephant doing the eating and I’m not sure that I would exactly want to join in with his feast… Elephants are, however, my absolute favorite animal and I can’t resist sharing this one with you today:
Little Elephant Swaying
Little elephant swaying.
Growing up breathing fresh air
And eating fresh branches.
Little elephant,
Swaying this way and that,
Eating the heart of the kia plant.
It’s a nursery rhyme from India, translated from Hindi, and is included in Floella Benjamin‘s lovely anthology Skip Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes from Across the World, richly illustrated by Sheila Moxley (Frances Lincoln, 2007/8). The rhymes really do come from all over the world – and many of them are given in their original langauge too, which makes this a particularly intriguing book for young children, especially as, being nursery rhymes, there’s plenty of onomatopoeia to play with. The rhymes are divided into four sections: Lullabies, Action Rhymes, Nature and Lucky Dip. In her introduction, Floella says:
“Rhymes are children’s first introduction to rhythm, poetry, music and the world around them. [...] They explore feelings and help children to develop important social skills while passing on cultural values and traditions to the next generation.”
By dipping into so many different cultures, this great book broadens the horizons of young children, and gives them the opportunity to have great fun with sounds and rhythms in other languages. What a feast!
July 10th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Marjorie, you’re definitely a kindred spirit — because I love elephants too (and have a small collection of them, from Thailand and Africa). Thanks for featuring Skip Across the Ocean. Will definitely have to pick it up!
July 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Yes, I love the notion of an international collection of nursery rhymes, although no doubt it is a tricky thing to do when working with translations!
July 12th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Jama, it’s always great to find someone shares my love of elephants. All the children’s books in this house which feature an elephant belong to me and my children realise how privileged they are to be allowed to read them
Sally, I agree – translating verse is a very special art; and I suppose one of the first decisions to be made is what, if any, rhyme and meter to follow in response to the original…
July 15th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
This book sounds like it would make for a wonderful addition to any collection. It reminds me of My Village: Rhymes from Around the World, collected by Danielle Wright.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Yes, Aline – it’s very much in the vein of My Village – and I should have pointed to your post – Everyone, here’s the link to it now!