Manja Stojic,
Hello World! Greetings in 43 Languages
Boxer Books, 2008.

Ages 3-8

Joyously illustrated in bright colors with bold brushstrokes, Hello World is a wonderful introduction for very young children to the different ways children say hello across the world.  Little ones will discover that children, no matter where they live, smile like they do when they say hello – and use gestures that, like the words themselves, may be similar or different to their own. Each page shows the close-up of a smiley child from one of the 43 countries represented in the book, with the word of greeting given underneath, starting with “Aloha!” (Hawaiian) and ending with “Kia Ora!” (Maori).  The fact that the languages aren’t presented in any particular order, makes for a pleasing world mix of languages.

Each greeting is writ large in western script with a slightly smaller phonetic version underneath and the actual language alongside.  Children are encouraged to try out all the different languages for themselves and an index at the end makes it easy to find a specific greeting quickly.  The inside-cover illustrations bring together forty of the faces in a delightful gallery and offer an added dimension to how the book can be read – children will enjoy matching the faces to their language, or maybe remembering the actual greeting spoken by a particular child.

With its array of different skin colors and hairstyles, Hello World is a great way to celebrate the many physical differences within our shared humanity.  Manja Stojic’s dedication at the beginning to “Amineta from Togo and all other children like her who have experienced slavery” also serves as a serious reminder that we need books like this, which nurture respect for fellow humans, and that it is never too early to open the world up to children.  Hello World does just that in a fun, engaging way and is an important book for children everywhere.

Marjorie Coughlan
February 2010