Until a couple of years ago, I easily confused a mnemonic device with onomatopoeias. Shortly after doing this I’d flip flop my stance on both of them and reminisce about Johnny Mnemonic, the lovably cheesy film from 1995. Fun fact: that film takes place in 2021. After teaching onomatopoeias to a handful of Chinese students online, as well as incorporating that into my science lessons at school-BAM, I’ll never forget what they are. Sounds All Around takes a global look at these words that sound like what they are, and in turn, has created an entirely new genre of graphic novels.
Granted, the bathroom graphic novel is a very niche one to be sure. Normally a graphic novel would have a linear story with characters in the story that you can follow or relate to. Our definition of a bathroom book is one that’s close to yours probably. It’s a book that might stay in the bathroom (but doesn’t have to) and will have short pages or blurbs that people can read in two minutes, give or take thirty seconds. Sounds All Around has different onomatopoeias from all around the world and the various sounds that they make.
The illustrations are bright, happy, printed on glossy paper, and make you smile looking at them. It feels like a graphic novel, but there’s no story, no linear characters and has the focus of a kitten who is chasing a laser beam. One could almost think of Sounds All Around as a graphic novel with 80 different stories. The book has 160 pages of color that suck in readers like a black hole. It’s a bathroom book that can easily escape the water closet and is just at home on the bookshelf or coffee table.
Every two pages feature 7-10 animals or people that are saying the sounds that they make or represent the situation. The book is broken out into Animal Noises, On the Farm, In the Zoo, Loud Noises, Natural Noises, Noisy Machines, Sounds of the Human Body and Sounds of Emotion. Some situations have more onomatopoeias then others, but they’re all entertaining, surprising, and great to share at parties.
A creaking sound in Hungarian is “nyiiii”, whereas in English it’s “creak….”. Kkik kkik is the sound a monkey makes in Korean. A turkey in Turkish sounds like “gulugulu”. If you’re in Japan and want to sound like a pig then you’d say “buu”. When you drink soda too quickly in Sweden you’ll make a sound that goes “raaap!”.
Sounds All Around is a hoot. This is an armchair travel book that will entertain kids and adults equally. When you learned a foreign language what were the first words that you learned? If you’re like me then it was the questionable words that might be a little rude. This book has those words but in a completely acceptable format and usage that will plant seeds of curiosity. If I know the sound of the wind in Italian, then maybe I could continue learning more and actually have a conversation in that language. Plic ploc is how the rain sounds in French, but what if I learned how to speak with people about restaurants, the weather, or life?
It’s questions like these that kids could really grasp onto. Knowing a second or third language is priceless and is one of the greatest gifts that you could give a child. Suddenly those jobs as an interpreter, international business, or all manner of jobs that deal with other languages could become an option. It’s commonplace in Europe for students to learn at least one additional language. Asian countries learn English in full immersion classrooms, private language schools are commonplace, and knowing basic elements of a second tongue are expected.
Is Sounds All Around a graphic novel that shows onomatopoeias from around the world or a seedling kit for learning a second language to upper elementary school students and up? How you look at that depends on your age, appreciation of graphic novels, and enjoyment of education. This is a fun book that happens to be educational. Even if you’ll never travel this book is fun to look at. Consider it a book of party tricks in case your Danish friend would be amused at the fact that you know how to say SMASH in their tongue. It’s BRAK, just in case, your friend will be over this weekend.
Sounds All Around, A Guide to Onomatopoeias Around the World is by Dr. James Chapman and available on Andrews McMeel Publishing.
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