David’s Trip to Paraguay: The Land of Amazing Colours by Miriam Rudolph (CMU Press, 2011) is a recently published children’s book that tells the story of young David who recounts a long and arduous journey from a small southern Manitoba farm to the Chaco region of Paraguay in 1927. A bilingual book — text is in German and in English – the book is also colorfully illustrated with Rudolph’s vibrant images, cleverly ‘stitched’ as it were, by all the various modes of transport David takes to get to his final destination. My daughter enjoyed connecting each illustrated page to the previous one by finding the travel image — whether railroad, or boat — unique to both. In the front of the book, the entire set of travel images are united in a long band showing the journey.
How did David come to take this trip? In 1927, a group of Mennonites in southern Manitoba, disheartened by the province’s ruling against the presence of German schools in certain immigrant communities like theirs, left Canada for the remote Chaco area in Paraguay. David’s parents were of these Mennonites. This long trip left a deep impression on a young boy, and later David would recount his memories of this trip to his grandchildren, one of them, being the author and illustrator of this book, Miriam Rudolph.
My daughter and I enjoyed reading this colorful book together, and maybe, some day she can read it with her Oma in German!
Here are 23 ASA (Atlantic South America) notes:
1. ASA includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay
2. This region covers 2/3 of South America
3. Brazil occupies almost 1/2 of the continent
4. Amazon river = largest river system in the world (not the longest, but the largest)
5. Amazon river flows east across northern Brazil
6. River is 4,000 miles long
7. River carries 20% of earths surface water
8. Rio de la Plata is a estuary
9. The land of South America is mostly plains and plateaus
10. Amazon basin is a giant floodplain in northern brazil
11. Brazilian highlands = a high plain area called the Mato Grosso Plateau
12. To the south, there are lowlands known as the Gran Chaco
13. Argentina = wide grassy plains of the Pampas, and the dry plains and plateaus of Patagonia
14. All of the plains rise in the west to form the Andes Mountains
15. Cool climate in the south and highland areas
16. Tropical climates in northern and coastal areas
17. Patagonia has a cool, desert climate
18. Pampas are good for farming and raising cattle
19. Amazon basin’s tropical climate supports the worlds largest rain forest
20. Amazon rain forest provides food, wood, rubber, medicine, and other products
21. Deforestasation has become a problem
22. Soil exhaustion has also become a problem
23. Main resources include - gold, silver, copper, iron, and oil
Here are 23 ASA (Atlantic South America) notes:
1. ASA includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay
2. This region covers 2/3 of South America
3. Brazil occupies almost 1/2 of the continent
4. Amazon river = largest river system in the world (not the longest, but the largest)
5. Amazon river flows east across northern Brazil
6. River is 4,000 miles long
7. River carries 20% of earths surface water
8. Rio de la Plata is a estuary
9. The land of South America is mostly plains and plateaus
10. Amazon basin is a giant floodplain in northern brazil
11. Brazilian highlands = a high plain area called the Mato Grosso Plateau
12. To the south, there are lowlands known as the Gran Chaco
13. Argentina = wide grassy plains of the Pampas, and the dry plains and plateaus of Patagonia
14. All of the plains rise in the west to form the Andes Mountains
15. Cool climate in the south and highland areas
16. Tropical climates in northern and coastal areas
17. Patagonia has a cool, desert climate
18. Pampas are good for farming and raising cattle
19. Amazon basin’s tropical climate supports the worlds largest rain forest
20. Amazon rain forest provides food, wood, rubber, medicine, and other products
21. Deforestasation has become a problem
22. Soil exhaustion has also become a problem
23. Main resources include - gold, silver, copper, iron, and oil
