Fifteen Picture Books To Have Fun with Words

Native English speakers take it in their stride. The quirkiness of the language with as many exceptions to the rule as there are rules is nothing to worry about. It all falls in place, beautifully! So what's to fret about, right?

A non-English-speaker who is eager to master the Queen's language might find it completely confounding. What with idioms, phrases, homographs, homonyms, not to mention the hodge-podge of foreign words adopted liberally, learning English can be both challenging and fun.

Just for the fun of it, since we like reading themed books back to back from the library, we recently checked out some picture books that turned out to be a delight.


I. Rhyming Epithets:

A Huge Hog Is A Big Pig
A Rhyming Word Game
by Francis McCall & Patricia Keeler

One of the favorite word games we play at home goes by a few popular names, one of which is Stinky Pinky. It is a game of answering the clue with a rhyming epithet - an adjective and a rhyming noun. For example, happy father is a glad dad; a clever cat is a witty kitty; an uncommon rabbit is a rare hare.

This book has 15 such Stinky Pinky clues with colorful photographs featuring children and the object in question.

I always wonder about the repeat-read value of such books - once we have read it, we know the answers and there is no incentive to read it again.

[ A version of this game available online]


II. Idioms & Phrases:

Raining Cats and Dogs
A Collection of Irresistible Idioms and Illustrations
by Will Moses

We've all heard of phrases which don't mean much when taken at face value, and may in fact be confusing and irrelevant to the situation. Idioms are a wonderful construct and discovering them as a youngster was a fun activity for me that I am now happy to pass on to my kids.

Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards was the kids' first introduction to idioms; the inimitable illustrations  plus a little spot-the-ape type activity tucked into the pictures kept the kids engaged.

With folkart style illustrations that are literal and funny, Raining Cats & Dogs states the idiom, explains the meaning, and gives an example usage. For example, the illustration for  "Feeling Blue" shows a man with a sad face with blue skin, and his pets are all blue as well; "Make a Beeline" shows a lovely country road with a line being drawn by a buzzing bee and a sign saying 'Buzz's Painting Company."


In a Pickle: And Other Funny Idioms 
by Marvin Terban
illustrated by Giulio Maestro

Much like Raining Cats & Dogs above, this book has silly illustrations to help remember the meaning of the idioms. The explanation is a bit more elaborate here.



III. Palindromes:

Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! 
Palindromania!
by Jon Agee

A master at wordplay, Jon Agee specializes in the silly, funny, and clever use of the language, with delightfully amusing pictures to boot.

What's not to like about palindromes? The illustrations are quirky and playful in both these books. Some phrases may not be easy for the very young to understand, but, 8+ year olds might appreciate the humor and cleverness of it all.



IV. Oxymorons:

Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp? 

by Jon Agee

The only picture book I found at my library that introduces this weird feature of our English language helped the kids think about such expressions they might have come across and not realized. "Pretty Ugly" is one that jumped to their minds right away. All in all, a fun book that amuses the adult reader as much as it amuses the kids.


V. Tongue Twisters:

Orangutan Tongs 
by Jon Agee

Shared here already, the book is quite fun to try out the tongue twisters.


Oh Say Can you Say
Fox in Socks
by Theodore Seuss Geisel

Two classic books that take wordplay to the ultimate degree and deliver immense satisfaction and joy to read aloud to kids. Nothing more to say about these, except, if one has not read these by now, one must please do so immediately!



VI. Crazy Collective Nouns


A Shiver of Sharks:
A Compilation of Aquatic Collective Nouns
by PatrickGeorge

Collective nouns are bizarre sometimes, and it takes a while to get used to some of the zanier ones. This book collects aquatic animals. The stylized design of the illustrations makes the book a treat to behold. Also by PatrickGeorge are A Filth of Starlings, A Drove of Bullocks, A Crackle of Crickets



Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?:
An Alphabet Book
by Sarah Asper-Smith

Alphabetically organized books are always engaging for young kids. This books presents collective nouns of various animals - the animals arranged alphabetically. From Army of Ants to a Zeal of Zebras, we learn the collective noun, with full page illustration that is child-friendly.



A Zeal of Zebras:
An Alphabet of Collective Nouns
by Woop Studios

Much like the book above, this book goes one step further and presents the collective nouns in alphabetical order rather than the creatures arranged in alphabetical order as the book above does.

So we start with an Aurora of Polar Bears, a Bale of Turtles, and work our way up to a Zeal of Zebras. Of course, it is inevitable to not end with Zeal of Zebras as there aren't many 'Z' animals.

The illustrations are gorgeous, quite stunning.




VII. Homonyms & Homophones


The King Who Rained
by Fred Gwynne

Words that are spelled differently but sound the same and have different meanings can be confusing.

Although over a quarter century old, the book still has its appeal to this day. Fairy tails, king who rained... you get the idea.

The pictures show the literal image, making it completely giggle-worthy for the kids.



The Dove Dove: Funny Homograph Riddles
by Marvin Terban
illustrated by Tom Huffman

Two words spelled the same way, but pronounced differently and have different meanings are quite a challenge for new readers.

The riddle format is presented as a sentence with boldface for the homographs. Example, Living animals dwell here. The answer is Live/live - Live animals, live here. Another example, The bird of peace plunged into the water. The dove dove into the water.

A bit challenging for the seven year old, but the nine year old had fun with most of the riddles in this book.




VIII. Similes

Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story
by Loreen Leedy


Rather than isolated listing of similes, incredibly talented writer, Loreen Leedy, presents an adventurous tale of Rufus fox who scares Babette the sheep by roaring like a lion; she then gets mad as a hornet... and so the story goes, with one simile after another adding spice to the story.

The figure of speech is explained, and kids are encouraged to come up with their own similes.

Agatha's Feather Bed

Agatha's Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story

by Carmen Agra Deedy
illustrated by Laura L. Seeley

"Everything comes from something,
Nothing comes from nothing.
Just like paper comes from trees,
And glass comes from sand,
An answer comes from a question.
All you have to do is ask."

 Agatha has the kind of store I'd like to shop in (or own, for that matter). A tiny store sandwiched between two skyscrapers, plumb in Manhattan, where she sells beautiful fabrics, among other things. She never misses a chance to tell the kids who ask about her fabrics how everything comes from something - wool from sheep, linen from flax, cotton from cotton bolls.

One evening, she closes the store early, even skips doing the customary 100 strokes of brushing her long hair, so she can get into her new feather bed. A bed she has been working hard and saving enough to buy. A bed that will replace her lumpy, bumpy old bed.

 But, rather than a quiet night of peaceful slumber in her new feather bed, she is hounded by six freezing-cold, naked geese who sound pretty miffed. "Where do you think those feathers came from, Agatha?" they ask, giving her the third degree.

 Agatha realizes her folly and promises to make up for it, asking them to return in a few days.

So, what does Agatha do? When the geese return she hands them warm, woven & sewn coats of perfect fit. And where did those coats come from? Everything must come from something.

À la The Gift of the Magi, Agatha cut her beautiful long hair to make the coats. Hair will grow back. Meanwhile, the geese are compensated and cared for, warm and goosebumps-less.

The book ends with an intriguing, "Where do goose eggs come from, anyway?" encouraging the children to ask all the right questions even if there may not be any ready answers.

 The layers of ideas woven into this book makes it a favorite with me as a parent. That, and the numerous fowl-related idioms.

The beautiful illustrations with all the little details Ms. Seeley tucks in makes it a favorite with my kids. Ideas like, If we take something, we must give back; Making a small personal sacrifice to make amends is not only noble but richly rewarding; Mutually beneficial trade and exchange makes the world go around; Championing for animal rights is not just an obligation but our duty.

This cleverly crafted book is at once a whimsical tale and a wealth of information. While the pun and word play appeal to the older readers, there is much that young readers can glean from this book, especially with the intricate illustrations on each page.

This is one of the few books my nine year old asked to read aloud to me after her initial read, pointing out the details in the pictures, and using her voice to champion for the geese even as she tries to justify Agatha's need for a comfortable bed. The clever wordplay and idioms gave me the opportunity to talk to my kids about idioms* and expressions in the language.

 [*one other book that we love reading simply for the idioms (and the gorgeous illustrations) is Monkey Business by Wallace Edrwards.]

This post written for Saffron Tree's Children's Book Week Celebration.

Read an interview with Carmen Agra Deedy at Saffron Tree.


[image source: http://carmenagradeedy.com/books/]

Orangutan Tongs

Orangutan Tongs
by Jon Agee


Word play. What's not to love about it?

From some of the familiar tongue twisters that adults will recognize to a set of quirky ones that defy repeated enunciation, the book is a fun read aloud for all ages. Kids may not always get the nuances, but the delightful pictures easily captivate them and keep them interested.

The 8 yo kept saying, "That's funny, Mama," as she read every other verse, with loud laughs punctuated by unbridled snorts. Tongue twisters are a favorite bonding activity for Papa and Ana. When he introduced, "One smart feller he felt smart; Two smart fellers they felt smart..." to her, she was in splits, understandably.

The 5 yo found quite a few things he could not easily forget or let go in the book. Like, "a noisy noise annoys an oyster" or, "I saw Esau sitting on a seesaw." His Achilles heel(s) happened to be "Peggy Babcock" and "Swiss Wristwatch"- saying it 5 times in a row fast.

Dear Deer, A Book of Homophones by Gene Barretta is another favorite at home, along with Crazy Like a Fox by Loreen Leedy (of Mapping Penny and Measuring Penny fame.) But, of late, a handful of Jon Agee's books have managed to tickle us - Palindromania, Z Goes Home, Terrific, Sit On a Potato Pan, Otis. I love the illustrations and the picture books are quite a treat.

The 5 yo's favorite was Mr.Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee. Each page hints at what type of animal Mr.Putney has, with fun clue picture and wordplay answer. Example, There's an armadillo on the nightstand next to a timepiece, with the question "Who wakes up Mr.Putney in the morning?" The answer is "Alarmadillo." You get the idea - the one that he got right away is "Slobster" having encountered it in Stardines by Prelutsky.

Humans have this special ability to communicate via language - a construct we've developed and perfected over centuries. The joy of taking this language we have made up and coming up with things to make it all the more amusing is only matched by the ability to share it with our fellow beings. Books that provide the sheer pleasure of reading aloud and laughing in the shared experience that the words provide us are indeed to be treasured.

[Two Tree Toads by Jon Agee]

[image source: amazon.com]