Cyfres Cip ar Gymru / Wonder Wales: Llwyau Caru / Love Spoons

A handy colour illustrated bilingual booklet tracing the story of the craftsmanship of creating lovespoons in wood and other materials, and the significance of the patterns used. 33 colour and 3 black-and-white illustrations.

About the Author :
Elin Meek is a freelance author and translater and has written many books for children and Welsh learners. She lives in Swansea, west Wales.

Review :
English review below Tydw i erioed wedi bod â llawer o fynadd efo llwyau caru. Rhyw bethau sy’n llenwi siopau twristaidd ochr yn ochr â doliau Cymreig a dreigiau bach meddal yn dal cennin pedr yn eu cegau oedd fy nelwedd i ohonynt. A phan welais i’r llyfr yma, yr argraff gyntaf oedd mai siop felly oedd y lle i hwn hefyd. Ond fe gefais fy siomi ar yr ochr orau. Nid llyfr ysgolheigaidd mohono, a tydi o ddim yn anelu at fod yn llyfr felly. Cip ar y pwnc a geir, ac mae yna logo ar y blaen sy’n nodi ei fod yn rhan o gyfres o’r enw Cip ar Gymru. Ar ôl edrych ar wefan Gomer gwelais fod yna nifer o deitlau ar gael yn y gyfres hon, ond fe fyddai wedi bod yn braf cael rhestr o’r cyfrolau eraill yng nghefn y llyfr yma. Er hynny, mae 'cyfrol' a 'llyfr' yn eiriau ychydig yn gamarweiniol – llyfryn ydi o, 24 tudalen, ac am fod y testun yn ymddangos yn Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg ochr yn ochr, a bod llawer o luniau wedi eu cynnwys, ychydig iawn o waith darllen sydd yna. Ac eto fe wnes i ddysgu nifer o bethau, e.e. mae cysylltiad rhwng llwyau caru a’r gair 'sboner' a bod y llwy garu fwyaf yn y byd yn wyth metr o hyd, wedi ei cherfio o un darn o sycamorwydden ac yn eiddo i S4C. Cymysgedd felly o wybodaeth sydd yma, ac fe allwn i gynnal cwis dafarn ar lwyau caru ar ôl ei ddarllen! I lawer, wrth gwrs, mae cael y testun yn Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg yn wastraff, ond gallai apelio at deuluoedd cymysg eu hiaith neu ddysgwyr. Cyfieithiad agos ond nid llythrennol sydd yma, a’r ddau fersiwn yn rhwydd i’w darllen. Gallai fod yn llyfr da i’w brynu i’w roi gyda llwy garu i rywun, ond os ydych am wneud hynny byddai’n syniad da i ddarllen y rhan olaf yn fanwl, y rhan sy'n esbonio arwyddocâd pob symbol gwahanol – rhag ofn i chwi 'ddweud' rhywbeth nad ydych yn ei olygu; e.e. gall y nifer o’r peli bach sy’n cael eu cerfio mor gywrain o fewn cawell ddynodi’r nifer o blant yr hoffa’r rhoddwr eu cael! Ac os oes yna rywun yn bwriadu rhoi llwy garu i mi rywbryd, fe gymera i un o’r hen rai plîs – honno o gasgliad Sain Ffagan sydd â’i llun ar dudalen 6 er enghraifft! * * * This is a slim (24 page) bilingual volume. According to the blurb on the back it promises to be full of interesting facts about lovespoons, to contain all you need to know in one handy volume and to be ideal for all ages. So does it live up to this? It is certainly full of interesting facts about the history of the tradition, the meaning of the various symbols that are carved, and assorted trivia. Did you know that the largest lovespoon in the world measures 8 metres and is owned by S4C? Whether this is all you need to know depends on you, of course, but it would certainly answer most basic questions. Some will be satisfied, others will find their curiosity aroused and will want to find out more and follow up some of the sources that are acknowledged in the back. And as to being suitable for all ages – yes, definitely. It is easy to read and follow and would make an ideal starting point for a school project. Because it is bilingual, with the two languages set out side by side on the same page, it would also be useful for Welsh learners. Both languages incidentally read very easily, and convey the same information without being a too literal translation. I know nothing about carving wood, but a friend who does carve wood had a quick look at the book, and while obviously not learning anything new, his only slightly negative comment was that he would liked to know which wood the various individual spoons illustrated were carved from. But then it isn’t a book for the expert. It’s a book that would make a nice addition when giving a lovespoon as a gift, and I suspect that many copies will be sold in craft shops as opposed to bookshops. It is published as part of a series of books called Cip ar Gymru/Wonder Wales, and I would have liked to have seen a list of the other books in the series. Actually this is my only criticism. I was pleasantly surprised with what I’m afraid I first dismissed as a 'tourist book'. To be honest, I’d always thought of the spoons themselves as 'tourist items', but I’ve had a slight change of heart (no pun intended), and would be really pleased if someone gave me an old lovespoon - the one from the Sain Ffagan collection illustrated on page 6 would do nicely!