THE ATLAS OF LANGUAGES: WORDS AROUND THE WORLD, by Rachel Lancashire and Jenny Zemanek, Harry N. Abrams, July 22, 2025, Hardcover, $22.99 (ages 8 and up)
Learn about language and where words came from in The Atlas of Languages: Words Around the World, by Rachel Lancashire and Jenny Zemanek.
Where did the word “banana” originate? What is the world’s most secret language? Which word is universally understood?
This book answers all these questions and more, taking the reader on a journey across the globe to explore the complexity, beauty, and variety of languages. It includes:
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- Fun facts and language trivia
- Beautifully illustrated maps to pore
- Intricate language family trees that show how different languages have grown and connected over time
- Eye-catching infographics
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—Synopsis provided by Harry N. Abrams
The Atlas of Languages is a dream for kids that like facts and trivia. But it’s also appealing for kids who are curious about their small world and the larger one around them.
The book is divided into nine chapters with a glossary and index at the end. Author Rachel Lancashire focuses on six continents (no one lives permanently on Antarctica). Also included is an introduction, a section on sign languages, and language stats and facts.
Each continent is then mapped out with that continent’s original languages with those languages further drilled down into language trees that show how different languages are related. All this is presented through beautiful illustrations and accessible infographics and short paragraphs.
For example, in North America, you will not see English listed, because English was brought to the Americas through colonization. Instead, you’ll see Uto-Aztecan, Mayan, Algonquian, Siouan, Dene, Eskaleut and Creole languages.
The Atlas of Languages is the type of book you can flip through or read cover-to-cover, making it appealing to a larger cross-section of readers. It’s the type of book adults, as well as tweens and teens, will find interesting.
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