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The Word Snoop
by
Ursula Dubosarsky (Goodreads Author),
Tohby Riddle
Meet the Word Snoop. She?s dashing and daring and witty as can be?and no one knows more about the evolution of the English language than she does. Luckily, she?s spilling her secrets in this gem of a book. From the first alphabet in 4000 BC, to anagrams, palindromes, and modern-day text messages, readers will learn all about the fascinating twists and turns our fair langua...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
July 9th 2009
by Dial
(first published 2007)
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10 year-old me would have rated this 5 stars, and at age 15, perhaps 4*s. By now I've seen so much of what's shared here, and am so inured to the hyper jollity of sentences such as "All you have to do is open this book, take a deep breath, and dive inside," that I cannot say I enjoyed it anymore than 3 stars' worth.
The description definitely exaggerates. There is a lot more to learn about language and word-play and grammar and phonetics and linguistics, etc. etc., than could ever be covered in 2...more
The description definitely exaggerates. There is a lot more to learn about language and word-play and grammar and phonetics and linguistics, etc. etc., than could ever be covered in 2...more
Mar 27, 2010
Catherine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
school-library-reads
I'm a word nerd so this book appeals to me right from the first chapter on the origins of our alphabet. But what about kids that have had no interest in this topic or even thought about language before? Dubosarsky finds a voice for her narrator that is quirky and captivating. This is a narrator who teases, wonders and plays with words right on the page, encouraging the reader to do the same. The author/narrator provides puzzles and codes at the end of each chapter for the reader to try out -- ac...more
How fun was this?! I wish I had an interrobang to insert here. Never heard of an interrobang? Well, read Dubosarsky's The Word Snoop and you will know. This is as good a book on the English language as any I've read in a long time. First published in Australia, the American editors may have let an Aussie expression or two slip through that could puzzle readers, but I didn't write them down while reading, and now I can't remember what they were! Still, it's a strong, fun introduction to the histo...more
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We were recently informed by our six year old that it is just not fair that he has to learn to read English. "English is weird and hard and everything is different in different words!" he complained. Oh, it's true, little man. We're sorry. We should totally be Spaniards.
We did, however, try to explain that we are endowing him with one of the most versatile, descriptive languages on the planet. His 8-year-old brother was similarly pissed off about the inconsistencies of English when he was learn...more
We did, however, try to explain that we are endowing him with one of the most versatile, descriptive languages on the planet. His 8-year-old brother was similarly pissed off about the inconsistencies of English when he was learn...more
True confession - I did not read the entirity of this book. In fact I brought it home for my daughter to read because she is on a Greek root word kick. I am not sure if she did read it... but I did browse through it and it is very entertaining. It is light and well written and does not get weighed down by is very weighty content. Lots of historical facts, evolutions, and games in and around the wonderful English Language. Just the sort of thing a tween needs to one up their classmates. It will p...more
This book got great reviews, and is about one of my favorite topics, the history of the English language, so I was excited to read it. But I found it incredibly disappointing - I HATE it when authors of children's nonfiction books insert millions of little asides in parentheses, with exclamation points. To my mind, it's disrespectful of the intelligence of the intended audience; the subject matter of this book is intriguing without trying to drum up false enthusiasm with lots of exclamation poin...more
Jul 27, 2009
Kate Hastings
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Grades 4-9 and adults, nonfiction, language history
Shelves:
nonfiction,
middle-school
THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! Learn all about the history of the English language. Did you know our current alphabet is ONLY about 1500 years old? Learn why some 60% of English words use silent letters. Also learn peculiarities of punctuation, cliche's, acronyms-- EVERYTHING. This would be a great book to read parts of when reading Frindle by Clements or even a work of Shakespeare to explain the language. My new favorite nonfiction book.
Engaging tour of the English language, including a survey of its history and all kinds of wordplay. The author strikes just the right tone, and a code to crack at the end of each chapter adds to the fun. We're reading this for "homeschool" right now and the kids find it enjoyable and inspiring. (Anagrams, anyone? lipograms? stories made entirely of palindromes?)
This book is genius. I loved the historical perspective on various fun language tricks (like spoonerisms, which my grandfather really couldn't help with hilarious consequences). It also includes language puzzles throughout the book. This book would be lots of fun to use with an English class; I definitely plan on buying it for the English language.
I expected to learn from the book but I did not expect to love it. As it turns out, this was one of our favorite reads of the year. It was positively delightful and entertaining and although we read the library copy I will be ordering a copy for us to have on hand as it's something we're already itching to read again.
I am pretty much in love with this book. It's about WORDS, people. You know how I love words. And it's written for kids (I found it in the children's section of my library) so that THEY will love words. Oh my goodness. I am going to have to buy a copy for my hypothetical children.
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Best most entertaining book I've come across on the English language - great for kids but for anyone really. History of the language, but also lots of little bits and pieces. Quite passionate book. Interesting illustrator too I must say - the pics really light up the page. I'm also buying a class set.
The perfect book for word nerds like me! Interesting background on the English language, and the last bit about text messages and how, really, they're extensions of how our language has evolved anyway, is a thought-provoking response to those who say our written language will die out due to txt. :)
A fantastic history of the English language and a great overview of all the weird & quirky ways that words work. Everything from comon acronyms to less common malapropisms and mendagreens (when you hear "'scuse me while I kiss this guy" instead of "kiss the sky" listening to Hendrix). It was utterly fascinating & written in an accessible and entertaining style. Kids and adults both will like solving the secret codes at the end of each chapter. It's a very fast read (1 night for me) but y...more
This is a really clever and fun introduction to many aspects of the English language and its history. I learned quite a lot and it is a very inviting book (which many books about linguistics and the language certainly are not!) It invites kids to try things out, and the author includes puzzles and codes to practice what you've just learned. Brilliant!
For years, my children have asked me questions about the English language that I haven't been able to answer. This fun and clever book answered so many of those questions!
This is the same book as The Word Spy (by the same author) - The Word Snoop is the "American" version.
I really liked all the information packed into this book, but totally accessible for children. I even learned some things (Mondegreens and Portmanteau words)
I really liked all the information packed into this book, but totally accessible for children. I even learned some things (Mondegreens and Portmanteau words)
This was well done! Interesting topic made more so by the child-friendly presentation, including puzzles and letters to the reader.
Jam packed full of fun, interesting tidbits about the English language, this was an entertaining book to read. My type of nonfiction.
Nov 08, 2009
Bonnie
added it
This has got to be one of the most delightful books I have ever read. I sure learned a lot about the history of the English language.
What a fun word book! I know it's for kids but I really enjoyed it. The author starts with the origins of written language and goes all the way to LOLspeak, stopping at pangrams, mondegreens, doublespeak and more along the way. Her style is clear and engaging, and she uses funny examples of all the linguistic phenomena she discusses. There's a code that runs all the way through, building on the new topics, and the whimsical illustrations add to the enjoyment. Even if you're not a precocious twee...more
This book was like a texbook. There was no storyline, and no characters. It just taught me everythimg there is to know about words and thing that have to do with them. Things like languages, alphabets, puncuation, acronyms, puns, the history of words, and much more. I learned a lot from this book. For example, the word laser is an acronym. Laser means Light Amplifacation by Stimulating Emission of Radiation. The book also had some secret codes to decipher, so it wasn't all facts and history. The...more
Thoroughly entertaining book, not too heavy on the history, but a bit like playing around with the English language.
So much fun! This was a highly entertaining book on the history of the English language, and how fun language can be. There were some things I already knew, like acronyms, euphemisms, and pig latin, but I guarantee you that you will learn a lot of new tricks and interesting information in here, and it's written so well I really couldn't put it down at times, I was so hooked! One of my favorite parts were codes to break at the end of each chapter that go together to form a secret message from the...more
Anyone who loves words, origins, and word games will enjoy this book probably more than I did.
a lighthearted, informative, entertaining read for all ages. Author portrays great sense of humor.
What a fun read. I think "kids" of all ages should read this fun book.
Loved it!
Loved it!
Very fun! A good choice for kids interested in etymology, or maybe English teachers.
Loved this book about the alphabet, the English language and other related word matters. I learnt so much about subjects that could have been very dry and uninteresting - eg. that the Phoenician language, which is the basis for Greek, Etruscan and then Roman, had no vowels!! Loved the section on Mondegreens, which are songs which are misheard - made me laugh. Is right up to date too, with information on texting etc. Great accompanying illustrations add real depth to the text. Loved Haley's Comma...more
Great book for language arts. I loved the codes and word puzzles.
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Ursula Dubosarsky is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. About The Golden Day, her first book with Candlewick Press, she says, "The little girls watch, wonder, respond, change, and grow — and then their childhood is gone, forever. This element of the story, I suppose, is at least partly autobiographical. But, as I say — all of our teachers come home safe and so...more
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