Let's Look at Indonesia
From SPARK
One-sentence summary
This story/coloring book is about rural life on the Indonesian island of Java from the viewpoint of a girl in a Christian family.
Description
This twenty-six page story/coloring book is told in the words of a young Javanese Christian girl. Her father did the pen and ink sketches for the book.
Children between the ages of seven and eleven years will enjoy this booklet.
Many parts of rural Indonesian culture and daily life are mentioned. Instructions are also given on which colors to use for each drawing. The drawings are interesting. They do not present any basic problem for understanding them.
The last page of the book shows traditional ways of fishing. Children are encouraged to follow the instruction of Jesus and become “fishers of men”.
Considerations
- The front inside cover shows a helpful map of a portion of South-East Asia and the countries that surround Indonesia.
- The written explanation on each page is short and concise.
- The page that shows traditional masks used for dances uses a negative word (hideous) when referring to the masks. The story line explains that the masks often remind the Javanese people of the evil spirits that they fear. It reminds children that the Javanese need more people to come and share the good news of God's love that can overcome the spirits. This page might present a problem in some cultures.
- The material focuses on the Island of Java. It is only one of more than 3,000 island of Indonesia. The islands of Sumatra, Bali and Sulawesi are also briefly mentioned.
- Two pages show signs written in the Indonesian language. The use of signs and writing to advertise will need to be explained to non-readers.
- One picture shows a man washing clothes next to two women who are also washing clothes. Did the illustrator make a mistake or is this culturally acceptable in Indonesia? This will need explaining for those people groups who view this activity as the work of women.
- Before using this material, consider the key factors for your particular language group.
Limitations
Guidelines for Use
- This booklet would be useful as audio cassette stories in other languages and as a coloring book or flipchart.
- If using the audio cassette, the illustrations could be used as a separate coloring book.
Where to Obtain
Link to Producer or Source Organization
Cost
$3.80 US at time of publication
Producer/Owners
Author/Artist/Producer
David Ellis Illustrator: Tripoernoto
Current copyright owner
Other Information
If you are interested in translating this story into a vernacular language you will need to contact OMF Singapore for permission. Use a Creative Commons License. This will help you come to an agreement giving permission and guidelines for any changes needed for the book to be culturally relevant in your vernacular languages.
