Loading...
14th out of 27 books
—
10 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Elbert's Bad Word
by
Audrey Wood,
Don Wood
With humor and insight, Audrey Wood tells a tale certain to tickle anyone shocked to hear a child utter a bad word; and Elberts cure provides an ingenious solution. The vivid, hilarious illustrations rendered by Audrey and Don Wood together offer fans a new dimension to their previous collaborations.
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 10th 1988
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 1988)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
297)
We found a Netflix treat: we just watched Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, which features animated adaptations of children's storybooks with celebrity narrators. This story was narrated by Ringo Starr and we just loved the format. It reminded us of the Tumblebooks animations that we occasionally watch online. As the book is narrated, we followed along with a slightly animated version of the illustrations. It was very entertaining and we really enjoyed watching all of the episodes on the DV...more
3.5 - I'll admit that when I saw this in the library I'd have taken it out for myself regardless of how Julia felt. I just wanted to know, I was curious as to how the author would ride this out.
I wish the illustrations would have fit more with the story. I use "so-so" a lot to describe illustrations - if they don't stand out for me usually - and this is what happened here. It really took away from the story for me.
Julia really, really liked this. She really got a kick out...more
I wish the illustrations would have fit more with the story. I use "so-so" a lot to describe illustrations - if they don't stand out for me usually - and this is what happened here. It really took away from the story for me.
Julia really, really liked this. She really got a kick out...more
I thought this book was so much fun--and with a good message, too! I really, really enjoyed it. I think it's such a fanciful portrayal of how children pick up bad words and somehow manage to utter them in the most awkward of times--without really even premeditating it, they just slip out. I thought it was really fun how the "bad word" was like a little demon creature just waiting for someone new to strike. While I was not really a fan of the little boy being made to wash his mouth ...more
view all 15 comments
Stumbled across this book in a discount sale and what a fantastic find! A unique approach to helping children understand how to deal with the existence of "bad words" and how to find alternate ways to express their feelings. Takes a visual approach by making the "bad word" a snickering little cloud that shrinks away when the boy learns how to express frustration in words without using the bad words he's heard. The only potential downside is that the little boy in the story...more
My children couldn't wait to have this story about a boy who says a bad word read to them (lol!). They were mesmerized by the concept of a bad word being represented as a dirty rat-like creature that gets bigger and bigger until it explodes out of you, as well as how you can get angry and still saw strong words (that sound funny) that aren't considered rude (and get you into big trouble) so that was a good part of the story. It was interesting to have the "bad word" appear as something...more
Abigail
rated it
Recommends it for:
Kids Who've Picked up Bad Words / Audrey & Don Woods Fans
Recommended to Abigail by:
Kathryn
Shelves:
picture-books
In this engaging picture-book exploration of "bad words," Audrey and Don Wood - the team who created such classics of the genre as The Napping House, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and Heckedy Peg - follow young Elbert as he picks up a very ugly word, while at a party for grown-ups, and causes quite a stir, when he uses it himself. His mother's outrage - she washes his mouth out with soap - is followed by a more practical solution, provided by the family gardener (and secret magician): ...more
Ronyell
rated it
“Elbert’s Bad Word” is one of the first books where both Audrey Wood and Don Wood illustrated the characters. This book is a cute story about how a young boy accidentally picks up a bad word while at an elegant dinner party and gets in big trouble for it and will surely amuse both the old and young audience for many years.
Both Audrey Wood and Don Wood made a great team together by creating a highly creative story about how a young boy catches a bad word, literally. Audrey Wood’s s...more
Both Audrey Wood and Don Wood made a great team together by creating a highly creative story about how a young boy catches a bad word, literally. Audrey Wood’s s...more
Has your child ever 'caught' a bad word? That's just what happens to Elbert one day. He heard a new word, and forgot about it until his big toe got hurt and that bad word sprang out of his mouth! Elbert went to visit the Gardener to help him with his problem. Later, Elbert is faced with the same situation and has to put his knowledge from the Gardener to the test.
The premise for the story seemed interesting, but upon reading it, the story was flat. There was a lot of repetition, which made the story too long, and had a weird wizard part that didn't make any sense. It almost seemed as if the author was trying too hard to make it so children could relate to it, but I don't know how effective the author was in doing so.
I love that this book acknowledges the occasional need for strong language and that, rather than punish children for testing out the words they will inevitably hear, adults should provide them with alternatives. I'm disturbed that anyone in this day and age would still wash a child's mouth out with soap and I'm glad to see the practice get the short shrift it deserves here.
This was pretty cute. It really made Caleb chuckle to hear Elbert's strong words. We were just talking about bad word's a couple of days ago, so this was well timed. I like how she calls it "catching a bad word." I know a lot of the kids I working with are catching bad words from the kids in their neighborhood.
This is a child's book, can I put it on my list?
We need a children's book section. There probably is one and I just don't realize it. But this book is so
cute, I'm adding it to my list. Great illustrations, a fun way to begin speaking with your children about making good expressive choices!
We need a children's book section. There probably is one and I just don't realize it. But this book is so
cute, I'm adding it to my list. Great illustrations, a fun way to begin speaking with your children about making good expressive choices!
This is a really good book. If I didn't suspect that reading this book had my kids mentally reviewing naughty words that they may have been exposed to by their mother, I probably would have given it 5 stars... I just had this weird feeling that they were judging me...
Man, I wish my parents read me this book instead of washing my mouth out with soap when I said "S**T". My brother still makes fun of me for it! AND I STILL CURSE!
LOVE this book about Elbert using a bad word and how he finds better words to use. LOVE the illustrations of the "bad word". Can't say enough about this fun book!
One of my favorite books to read aloud to kids. For some reason I felt it required a very posh British accent, which always threw the kids a bit.
This book is a fun book that teaches children that bad words can be replaced with better words. The pictures are really good also.
Very clever and funny tale about how one boy replaced a bad word with mild ones. MY STARS!!!! THUNDER AND LIGHTNING!!!
Funny!
Funny!
In this one, Elbert learns to replace bad words with good ones. Very cute and very needed by a little someone I know. HAIR!
Today we team up with Associate Professor Vivian Vasquez’s Critical Literacy In Practice (CLIP) Podcast to bring you two distinct discussions of “Elbert’s Bad Word”. Click below to hear our Just One More Book discussion, pop over to Vivian’s site to hear the story unpacked from the critical literacy perspective, and then share your thoughts on the subject by posting comments on either of our sites.
Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast: ...more
Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast: ...more
Stacey Molina
added it
this is a good book showing kids how they don't need curse words to get their feelings out.
caroline REALLY wants to know what the bad word was that he said - i think its funny!
i LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! read it to your kids. of any age, it's great.
This is a book we can all relate to. Kids get a laugh out of it.
The illustrations are really great. I liked some of the story details, such as musical performances by characters playing instruments that would be seen at a symphony. Parts of the story were clever, such as how some (very funny) alternative words to the “bad word” (which is never revealed) got in Elbert’s mouth, and came out of his mouth.
I really, really didn’t like the washing Elbert’s mouth out with soap when he said the “bad word” and overall didn’t find the story all that inter...more
I really, really didn’t like the washing Elbert’s mouth out with soap when he said the “bad word” and overall didn’t find the story all that inter...more
Excellent book about word choice. Great for having a discussion about swearing and unkind words.
Barbara
rated it
Recommends it for:
parents who want to teach children not to use bad words.
Shelves:
picture-books
This book deals with the effect on a small child who hears a bad word. Instead of being forgotten it lurks beneath the surface of his mind until it finally comes out his mouth. This book shows how a bad word overheard at a mostly adult garden party creeps inside the mind of a small boy, and later, to everyone's horror, escapes from his mouth when a mallet lands on his big toe later during that same party. And it shows how the chastened boy finds a solution to make sure the bad word has no more p...more
a lesson about swearing
Monica
marked it as read-to-nephew
Charissa, Please don't mind if I add all your 5 star kids books. My nephew is going to have an an awakening when he goes to kindergarten in the fall. He says his father says he can say things the teacher won't appreciate. I remember him barely 2 behind me in his car seat as I was trying to take a cat nap repeating, "Damit, damit, damit" while we were waiting for his mom in the Walmart parking lot.
My children have all loved this book. I had just barely bought it for my then 4 year old first born, when a babysitter had a cooking accident in my kitchen and let loose a string of eye opening explicatives. When we got home that night, Nate said, "I think I need to read Elbert's bad word tonight. I learned lots of new ones."
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Audrey Wood studied art and drama at the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has owned an operated a book and import store, taught chldren's drama and art, and traveled throughout Mexico and Guatemala studying Indian folk art. She now lives in Hawaii with her talented family (husband Don and son Bruce, who have both collaborated with Audrey by illustrating some of her books).
More about Audrey Wood...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
