Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope

I leave this book at my desk at work. I frequently get asked "What is Esperanto?" because I always wear a pin with the flag of Esperanto, or one with a green star. Any time someone is curious about the language I speak, I drop this book off at their desk. It's a much better ambassador to Esperanto than I am. I keep it with my work copy of the Muzzy multi-lingual collection. Because thanks to Esperanto, I'm now also learning German. At 42 I believed it was too late for me to effectively learn a new language. I had tried and failed miserably in the past to learn Spanish. After 2 years of HS Spanish, I wasn't anywhere close to being able to say much of anything. I never gave it another thought. Until I stumbled on Esperanto by accident. I read a ton of conflicting information online, so I decided to take a 3 month challenge. After that I was hooked! You'll often hear Esperantists state that it is "life changing", because it has such a profound positive boost to your confidence levels. If you suffer from low self-esteem, or low confidence, Esperanto will change your life. If you love logic, logic puzzles, languages, world travel (often even free!), making new friends internationally, Esperanto will be your new favorite life long hobby. Ditto if you've ever wanted to join a secret club or fraternity where the only requirement is too learn a special language and bond with your peers globally.If anything I said above was interesting to you, then you should buy this book. It has a lot of similar information and will provide you basic instruction on your next step if you wish to continue. Even though you will be done with the book in a few minutes, you will want to show it around to your friends that may be interested in your new hobby. The illustrations are beautiful and plentiful. The facts are brief, accurate and plentiful. While this is not an instructional book, it gives some examples of what makes the language so special.

This beautifully written and illustrated hardcover children's book is an inspiring read. It tells the story of L.L. Zamenhof, a Polish doctor who started creating the language Esperanto when he was just a teenager. This carefully-researched book recreates the late 19th-century European setting and the life of Zamenhof with captivating prose and exquisite illustrations, while successfully conveying the logical basis and charm of this unique language. Highly recommended!

When children are the right age, this book would provide a good introduction to the topics of name-calling, racism, and anti-Semitism. The book has nice illustrations and an upbeat story which would make this dismal topic less intimidating. The book could be reread as the children grow up and are capable of learning at a deeper level. Plus, it provides food for thought about Esperanto and the value of learning foreign languages. Buy the book when the children are very young and introduce them to it before they start going to school.

What a great little kids book. My 8-yr. old really enjoyed it. The story is good, the illustrations add a lot, and there is some very good additional info at the end, including bibliography. I just wish it had been longer!

I liked the writing and the illustrations. I ordered it out of curiositybecause I hadn't seen a new book in Esperanto for several years.

It's great to see a children's book about Esperanto and with such cute illustrations! <3

Doctor EspérantoWritten By: Mars RockliffIllustrated by: Zosia DzierzawskaI received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.Wow, I loved this book! It is a fantastic story about a truly inspiring family.Story:I had no idea about the story behind the Espéranto language. Zamenhof was a Jew born in Russian occupied Poland and so he heard and learned multiple languages as a child. His theory was that a common language (such as Espéranto which combined elements of many languages) would lead to peace. I just think this concept shows Dr. Zamenhof’s spirit. The reality is much more complicated isn’t it? But, I love the concept that if we could all just understand each other verbally then we could find a way to really know each other.The author also does a great job in presenting this language. She explains it simply, shows the language development over time, and gives us the words in a way we can understand them.This storybook has a happy ending showing the world-wide growth and the love and understanding garnered by this language. At the end of the book there is a short biography of Dr. Zamenhof which led me to do a bit of research on my own. He was such a fascinating man. Dr. Zamenhof’s children continued his work after his death. His son was an ophthalmologist who did a lot of work on “blind spots”. His youngest daughter was a writer and toured the world. I couldn’t find much on the older daughter. The sad part is that they all died during WWII in Nazi concentration camps. Truly, the travesty of the Holocaust becomes ever more heartbreaking as we encounter real people who suffered and died.Illustrations:I loved that the illustrator is from Poland. She said in her blurb at the end of the book that she used old “photographs, paintings, and stories” to help “soak” herself in the story setting. It really shows throughout the book. The outfits of the people are just beautifully detailed and the settings are staged as if I was watching a play. The pictures immersed me in Zamenhof’s world. The illustrations also played a role in showing the language development and meaning of words.In conclusion:Please read this book! Even my husband was interested in this story and he doesn’t read for pleasure. We found Espéranto on Duolingo and are having fun.

Beautiful book with great message