Review by Choice Review
This delightful book compiled by Rennie (Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland) goes beyond any typical dictionary for children, given that it consists only of words used by Roald Dahl in his stories and poems. Entries include "extra usual words" invented by Dahl to describe to describe noises ("gruntle"), fictional characters ("Augustus Gloop"), fantastical creatures ("hornswoggler"), and any other utterly marvelous thing ("frumptious"). It is a very timely publication, as Dahl fans celebrated what would have been his 100th birthday in September 2016. Organized alphabetically, entries include entertaining sample sentences from Dahl's works and colorful, visually appealing illustrations by illustrator Blake. Highlighted discussions under the heading "Gobblefunking with words" occur throughout the book, providing context for invented words and such utterances as chatter, or "babblement." The audience for this book is readers from ages seven to adult--precisely all those able to read Dahl's works. This title is similar to The Pottersaurus: 1,500 Words Harry Potter Readers Need to Know (2007), which offers kid-friendly definitions of high-level vocabulary words that appear in the Harry Potter series. Educators who are using Dahl's fiction or poems in the classroom will find this an excellent supplementary text for inspiring children to play with words. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. --Susan A. Ariew, University of South Florida
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Roald Dahl fans, writers, and lovers of language will delight in this unusual dictionary filled with whimsical wordplay and full-color illustrations by Blake. In each entry, a quote from one of Dahl's stories or poems uses the word in a sentence (for instance, for "scrumdiddlyumptious," from The BFG, "Fleshlumpeater says he is never eating queen and he thinks perhaps she has an especially scrumdiddlyumptious flavour"). Each spread contains several nonsense or invented terms or names of characters from the author's books; these are highlighted in blue to differentiate them from standard English words. In addition, there are "ringbelling rhymes" for would-be poets, "sparky synonyms," and lengthier sidebars called "Gobblefunking with Words," which may prompt lessons on subjects such as similes, metaphors, prefixes, suffixes, alliteration, spoonerisms, compound words, and onomatopoeia. Teachers will find the detailed lists of synonyms for commonly used words ("big," "small," "bad," "good," "move," and "say") particularly useful for aspiring writers. Occasional "Did You Know?" headings and footnotes discuss word origins and interesting facts ("A malapropism is when you use a word by miss cake"). Teachers and librarians might want to feature a Dahl "word of the day" during this centennial year-or any year. VERDICT A delightful, inspiring, and unique reference for most collections.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wordplay has its day in this extra-usual compilation of lexicographical delights drawn from Dahls works.ONLY REALLY INTERESTING WORDS are allowed in this dictionary, writes compiler Rennie, and the contents cleave to that stricture with a wacksey (splendidly huge) mix of those conventional but nonetheless gloriumptious locutions (like aardvark or sneeze, printed in black) and wondercrump original coinages (in blue) with which the masters prose is laced. Every entry comes with a brief definition and one or more sentences from a specified work quoted to demonstrate usage. Each also includes part of speech, alternate forms, and, very often, either cross references (Another mushious fruit is the snozzberry) or a linguistic excursion into grammar, the history of words, real-world cognates, or derivations. One frequently recurring extra feature challenges would-be versifiers to find Ringbelling Rhymes, and another offers examples and guidelines for making any writing zippfizz along by Gobblefunking with Words. Major characters, creatures, and candies also earn diddly (individual or distinct) slots in the alphabet. That the pages are positively festooned with Blakes color cartoon illustrations, all drawn from the novels, just puts the golden ticket into the Wonka bar. Snapperwhippers arent the only readers who will find this equally delumptious as a dictionary, a source of inspiration, and a way of revisiting a shelf of phizz-whizzing classics. (Reference. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
