Reader’s Annotations: A great book that will effectively convey the weight of words to young readers. Perhaps the greatest gift of this book is in expressing that words are just words, they may offend, but ultimately they are harmless. It is what people do with words that matters. A fantastic lesson to impart on young word-learners.
Author: Jim Tobin
Illustrator: Dave CoverlyAge: 5 - 8 yearsgenre/subject: Children's picture book, children's humorPlot Summary: Michael is a collector of words. All kinds. When he collects one word, after hearing it on the bus, his sister informs him that it is an "inappropriate" word. Still, Michael tries it out at school with some friends. He also shares with his friends that it is a bad word. This is intriging to everyone, including Michael. Once the teacher hears who is responsible for teaching everyone the new, inappropriate word, she asks Michael to help her in the library. She asks him to collect some new words for her. He collects so many (over two hours worth) and as a result, forgets the inappropriate one. Evaluation: This is such a fantastic book, with major educational value. My daughter is at the age where she classify words as good and bad, nice or mean. These are things that language learners sort out. What I love is the author choses to not focus on how bad the word is, but instead overwhealmes the main character with good words! ALSO, the illustrator is so clever in carrying out the story through his illustrations. Each word Michael collects is an object of sorts. The inappropriate word is nasty looking, and jagged with symbols in place of letters. It looks like a stinky piece of trash. The image is just perfect for such a filthy word!!Significance & Bibliographic Usefulness: Words are portrayed as objects, high early literacy value.Readalikes:Awards/Lists: noneLinks:
Hook: Michael collects words. Not all of them are appropriate!
Ideas, Uses: Perfect for kindergarden teachers who may want to set boundaries on what words are appropriate and inappropriate for the classroom, or to use with friends. It is such a relevant topic for 5-8 year olds! At the very least, young readers learn what the word inappropriate means.
ISBN: 978-0805094749
Page Count: 36
Format: Hardcover
Publisher:
Pub Date:
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