Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

I excitedly sliced open the box that had just arrived. Hubs walked past and stared as I took out each book like a treasure. “Uh… so are we buying every book we have in Korean now, too?” He said half joking and half scared. Admittedly, I may have lost control when I first realized how easy it was to use and shop with Aladin Books. But, even before Little Guy came along, I was a book nerd. I’ve spent countless hours in Kyobo bookstores in Seoul. Don’t even ask how many books I have about learning and studying Korean. Being able to read and compare two classic favorites side by side is just something that brings me an unreasonable amount of excitement. Hopefully, this will be a great tool for Little Guy as he continues to learn Korean.

There is not much to say about this book. It’s a wonderful title to have in your library. If you haven’t read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, there are numerous versions available. If you have a little library in your town, chances are it will be there at some point this year. I have seen peek-a-boo and flap versions. There are also puzzle versions. There are several videos on Youtube where it is read aloud in English and Korean. It’s a classic and it is a favorite of Little Guy’s.

The Korean Edition has the same layout and illustrations as the English version. The translation doesn’t quite roll of the tongue the same way, though. When we read it in English it almost becomes a song or a chant. Maybe it’s my Korean level showing through, but it just doesn’t have the same rhythm and ease. Despite that, it’s still a wonderful read and another great source of color and animal vocabulary. It also helps teach the question and answer pattern in Korean of “what do you see?” and “I see (this.)” What do you think? Is it worth adding to your library?

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