Always Room For One More (4)

Leodhas, S.N. (1965). Always room for one more. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 

Book cover.

The multicultural folktalke Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas depicts a traditional Scottish folk song that has been orally handed down. Because of its representation of the language of the culture, much of it can be tricky to understand; however, thankfully, a glossary is included in the back of the book to define such terms as bairns (children of middle age range), blether (foolish talk), and och ("Oh.").   


The 1966 Caldecott Medal winning picture book makes use of primitive/folk pencil line illustrations that are well suited to the story's simple conflict, which is to find enough room for the ever-growing number of people who come by the home of the protagonist, Lachie MacLachlan and his wife and ten children. Perhaps reflecting the hospitality of Scottish culture, the MacLachlans at last solve the problem of more and more people stopping in by building a bigger house, insuring that there is indeed "always room for one more."

As previously mentioned, much of the language of the story can be somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with the Scottish culture and language. However, this makes it a book very well suited to teach culture, jargon, and discerning word meanings based on context clues. It could even be easily used with a high school audience for the same topics, and provide a great opportunity for variety in instructional strategies for older audiences.