I can’t think of anyone else who could’ve so beautifully interpreted our crazy requests, like having ‘a french leopard and a tiny witch sitting in a creepy Victorian home playing the Ouija board. Monson and John use dark humor to create a series of amusing rhyming couplets that offer questionable life advice, though maybe the kids should sit this one out. Though perhaps more playful than practical, the concept will help new readers and new English language learners conquer some of the more peculiar aspects of our language.

I love alphabet books, I also love pointing out inconsistencies of language (there’s an ‘l’ in half, so weird). We and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, provide social media features, and analyze our traffic.Beryl Exley is an experienced classroom teacher and lecturer in English Curriculum and Literacies Education with the school of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University in Queensland. English will absorb some words from other languages, like most English speakers will understand some French words, eg beaucoup, oui, quiche, and even the acronym of RSVP. Ewe, eulogy, pterodactyl, psychic, you, and why were some great examples, and I liked that they covered the Greek root for pterodactyl in the glossary. This fun take on a standard alphabet book features some of the trickier words used in the English language.

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. A clever book that mocks other alphabet books for children by using silent letters, homophones, and alternate letter sounds. A few of the choices were a bit odd, and I do wish they had included a bit more information (either in the glossary or in supplemental note). Amid all the humour, wordplay, and silliness, there's solid, brain-teasing information about words and how they're spelled.The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses.