A hundred thousand welcomes by Mary Lee Donovan and Lian Cho

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes began as research by the author, Mary Lee Donovan, into how to say welcome in as many different languages as possible. She then gathered information on the customs of welcome from around the world and from this collection of welcomes and traditions this very appealing and diverse book was produced. The important introduction explains the reasons behind the saying of ‘Welcome’ and its use in cultures and religions across all continents. Following the introduction is a clever rhyming story spread across the book which showcases ‘welcome’ in thirteen different languages. The languages of welcome chosen for this publication are English, Indonesian, Modern Standard Arabic, Spanish/Castilian, Mandarin, Japanese, Bengali, German-Standard, Hindi, Modern Standard Urdu, Bashkir/Bashkort and two endangered languages, Gaelic/Irish and Lakota Sioux. On each page is the phonetic spelling of the welcome to enable the correct pronunciation. This is also expanded on in the final pages of the book with further interesting information given about the languages chosen. The bright and colourful illustrations by Lian Cho focus on the sharing of food in the welcoming of family, friends or strangers to homes.

A wonderful resource for a home, school or public library.

Themes: Diversity, Welcome, Greetings, Languages, Gatherings.

Kathryn Beilby