YUM! YUCK!

Park follows Mung-Mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds (2004) with an equally international array of human exclamations—in about two dozen tongues, and uttered by a multicultural cast of children depicted on foldout leaves. Placed in a busy marketplace in Ramá’s vigorously drawn, digitally finished watercolors, the children go from simple pleasure to a chorus of dismay—“Oh-gah!” (Yoruba) “Ay!” (Spanish) “Oy!” (Polish) “Oo-wah!” (Japanese) “Yikes!” (English)—when an accident with a spice cart covers all their snacks in pepper. Then they go back to joy—“Voy!” (Farsi) “Vov-vov!” (Swedish) “Po-po!” (Greek) “Hui!” (German) “Wow!” (English)—when furnished with replacements. English equivalents all come last, and are hidden beneath the folds, which gives young audiences a chance to try out the less familiar sounds while guessing what emotion is being expressed. The authors head off potential cavils by noting at the end that variants, both of expression and of pronunciation, exist within each language. An entertaining companion for its predecessor, or other like-themed titles, such as Hank De Zutter’s Who Says a Dog Goes Bow-Wow? (1992). (Picture book. 3-6)