I love language so this fantastic book of idioms makes me very happy indeed!
“Do you see a dragon?” asks a child at the start of this story. “A dragon? What dragon? I’ll believe you when pigs fly!” says his friend.
‘When Pigs Fly’ is a wonderful expression which we use in English when we think something will never happen – but what do they say in other countries to express the same sentiment? This book takes us on a little journey around the world to find out.
I won’t spoil the idioms for you as they are great fun but the countries included are the Netherlands, Spain, Nigeria, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Poland, Germany, Russia and Latvia. From whistling lobsters and upside down crows through to ice-dancing cows and tree-climbing fish, this eclectic and slightly bonkers collection of phrases is guaranteed to have your child laughing out loud.
The textured illustrations are diverse and inclusive and there is lots of lovely detail to explore. As the children move through the pages in search of the elusive dragon we see each new idiom brought to life, and the ones from previous pages follow us along. Ivy really enjoyed spotting the pigs, frogs, chickens etc as we progressed through the story.
My favourite touch is the map at the back of the book which places each of the children in their own country and shows us the idiom in their own language.
This is a great addition to your child’s bookshelf if you’re looking to expand their world view, particularly if they are starting to show an interest in other languages.
Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.