Same Book, Different Language

"That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet." - Jhumpa Lahiri

Everybody has their favorite thing they love to collect when they travel whether that is mugs, magnets, pins, ornaments, t-shirts, or shot glasses. Mine are postcards and children's books.

I have collected 108 postcards from over 17 countries and eight children's books from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, England, France, and Ireland. And this bedtime story is about those books and why I decided to collect each book.

After the first book, when I would travel I made it a point to visit the local bookstore and buy a book in a different language. I would head towards the children's section and see all these books I used to read as a child but in another language. I found that fascinating! It was sweet nostalgia seeing the familiar covers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, Where's Waldo? and many more. I love that no matter the country, children from around the world grow up reading the same stories. We share a love for the beautiful illustrations of Eric Carle, the witty rhymes of Dr. Seuss, and the hard-to-find man in a red and white striped shirt, bobble hat, and glasses. I also found that by reading children's books in French, German, or Italian, helped me learn the language as they are easy to understand with short sentences, pictures, and simple vocabulary.

I have always had a fondness for children's books and reading. My grandmother was a librarian and every Sunday when we would visit her she would have a new stack of books and movies for us. Still today, I love seeing the illustrations, fonts, rhymes, sing-alongs, characters, the moral, and lesson learned.

And for my "Bedtime Story" to the readers of Vocal, I share with you my collection of 8 children's books in different languages. These were some of my favorite stories as a child and I hope they bring back sweet memories for you as they did for me!

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Italian
• Goodnight Moon - French
• Guess How Much I Love You - German
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt - Dutch
• When the Grinch Stole Christmas - Catalan
• Where’s Waldo? - British English
• Santa’s Sleigh Over Dublin -
• The Bremen Town Musicians - German

Guess How Much I Love You: German

Weibt de eigentlich, wie lieb ich dich hab?

The first book in my collection was "Guess How Much I Love you?" by Sam McBratney. I went to Germany in 2015 to visit friends for the Easter holiday, and one day we walked through a bookstore and I saw a book that I recognized, a mother rabbit and her baby with their long ears. I would recognize that picture anywhere as my mother would read it to me as a child almost every night. We would stretch out our arms like the rabbits in the book and say "I love you this much!" So for an Easter gift, I bought the book and mailed it to my mom. She displays it every Easter as a memento from my trip to Germany, and also because it's a wonderful memory of a special mother-daughter moment from my childhood.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Italian

Il piccolo Bruco Maisazio

Probably one of the most famous and beloved children's authors is Eric Carle. His colorful illustrations, stories, and animal artwork have captivated children all over the world especially, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was first published in 1969, and has been translated into 66 languages, and has sold more than 50 million copies.

After I graduated college in 2016, I went to Italy for 3 months to teach English at a high school and stayed with a host family in the city of Ivrea in northern Italy. To help me learn Italian my host mother gave me this book to read to help me practice, and it was incredibly helpful! It was great for learning numbers, days of the week, fruits, food, and candy. I love to read this book in another language for this exact reason, as it helps to learn so much vocabulary.

Currently, I am an English teacher online for children in China. During one lesson, we were learning the vocabulary words were: caterpillar, leaf, and butterfly. One student said, "teacher, teacher look!" and held up a book to his webcam and it was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but it was written in Chinese! And then I showed him my book in English, and then he had the biggest smile on his face. At this point, we were both enthralled as I do not have a children's book written in Chinese, but I get to see it through a computer screen! A book that I read when I was little, a 5-year-old boy in China also loves it. That is the magic of books, they have the power to bring people together from all over the world.

Goodnight Moon: French

Bonsoir Lune

Goodnight room.

Goodnight moon.

Goodnight cow over the moon.

Goodnight light and the red balloon.

This highly acclaimed children's story, Goodnight Moon, is a staple for millions of children at bedtime. Page by page, we wander through the house saying goodnight to various animals and objects like socks, rabbits, a mouse, and a bowl of mush.

In December of 2019, I lived with a host family in a small town of southern France called Corneilla-del-Vercol. I was an in-home English tutor and helped the family learned English while I could practice my French. I told my host mother I liked to collect children's books in different languages, so one day she took me to a bookstore in the city. I perused the books and saw the most popular French book, The Little Prince, but settled on Goodnight Moon as this book has been a family favorite for many years.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt: Dutch

Wij gaan op berenjacht

Can’t go over it,

Can’t go under it,

Can’t go around it,

Got to go through it!

This is one of my favorite nursery rhymes and children's book. I remember in kindergarten sitting in circle time singing along and going on an adventure through the grass, river, and cave.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Catalan

Quan el Grinx va Robar el Nadal

In 2019 I lived with a family in southern France for 2 months. They lived about 2 hours from the border to Spain, and one weekend I went with the family for a long weekend to Barcelona. It was the beginning of December and the streets of Barcelona were beautifully decorated with twinkling, sparkly Christmas lights. The most famous shopping street, Passeig de Gracia, were blue butterflies scattered among 16 foot light strands hanging among the busy street below. It was a picture-perfect Christmas scene.

The next morning I went to a coffee shop and was sitting outside when I noticed a bookshop across the street. Perfect! I headed straight for the children's section and began to look at the books. I usually get a book that I recognize and remember reading as a child. I saw the Dr. Seuss books and thought about the Cat in the Hat, but decided on How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The story reminded me of the beautiful holiday lights I saw in Barcelona and it was a wonderful souvenir from my weekend in Spain.

Where's Waldo?: British English

Where's Wally?

Here's a fun fact!

Did you know that Waldo's name changes depending on what country you are in?

His name is Waldo in the US, Wally in the UK, Charlie in France, Walter in Germany, Holger in Danish, and Willie in Afrikaans.

When I lived in London I went into Hamleys, an iconic and popular children's toy store in central London. I saw the children's books and was deciding on what book to add to my collection. I thought about buying Paddington, Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, but then I saw Where's Waldo? But wait! His name was not Waldo, but Wally! I thought that was odd as the book was in English and didn't expect it to be different. I then learned Where's Waldo? was originally a British children's book but the name "Wally" is not popular in North America, and the publishers thought changing the name to Waldo would resonate with readers better. So after learning this rather interesting and fun fact I decided that "Where's Waldo?" would be my book from the UK.

The Bremen Town Musicians: German

Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten

Santa's Sleigh on its way to Dublin:

To the tune of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"