This Caldecott award-winning picture book does have some interesting illustrations. Basically, they’re done with black and white cross-hatch lines, with a splash of purple color on each page. I guess the purple alludes to the heather? Since the book is a retelling of a Scottish folk song?

Sorche Nic Leodhas, whose real name was LeClaire Gowans Alger, was an American librarian of Scottish extraction. Her father and grandfather handed down this folk song to her when she was a child, and she re-wrote it to make it a bit more friendly to American children, taking out some of the Scottish dialect and replacing it with more familiar English words. There’s still plenty of Scottish flavor and dialect left in the song as presented in this picture book, and there’s also a glossary in the back of the book to translate those Scottish words and phrases.

In the story song, householder Lachie MacLachlan welcomes all of the travelers who pass by his door to come in and rest a while, saying “There’s room galore! There’s room for one more! There’s always room for one more!” He welcomes so many visitors that his house, already full with Lachie and his wife and ten bairns, is literally filled to bursting, and everyone who’s enjoying the hospitality must decide what to do next when the house “with its but and its ben and its walls and its roof DINGED DOWN!” (Tumbled down)

So, this book is a folk song. I very much appreciate the printed music, also in the back of the book, for a suggested tune for this song, but what I’d really like to have is a video or recorded version online where I could listen to the song as it’s meant to be sung. This book is a little bit difficult to read aloud what with the unfamiliar words and the inconsistent rhythm of the song. I looked for a video version, but I couldn’t find one. I would suggest picking out the melody on the piano if you can before reading/singing the book aloud with a child. That would make it a lot more fun.

On a couple of review sites I checked, most people were not too fond of the illustration style in this little book, with pictures by Nonny Hogrogian. They are rather different, but a close look might inspire a child or an adult to try some of the same. I kind of enjoyed the style that Hogrogian chose, once I got used to it.

If you enjoy this picture book and the story it tells, you might like Sorche Nic Leodhas’s longer compilation of Scottish folk tales, Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland. This folk tale anthology won a Newbery Honor in 1963, and it’s a good source for anyone interested investigating old Scottish tales or one’s own Scottish heritage.