Review: Absurd Words by Tara Lazar

 This is the last review for 2021, and I'm going to end it with a very fitting book about...

Words!

Reading is all about words. So, when I got my hands on this one, it was a no-brainer that I'd have to take a look at it. There are so many words out there...enough to fill South Dakota according to this book (or something like that). Among those normal words are weird ones. Absurd ones.

Ready to take a look?

ABSURD WORDS

A Kids' Fun and Hilarious Vocabulary Builder for Future Word Nerds

by Tara Lazar

Sourcebooks Explore

Middle Grade Non-Fiction

320 pages

ages 8 to 12

Why use boring old words when you can expand and build your vocabulary—and have fun doing it! A user-friendly, engaging book about the power of words—perfect for educators, parents, and future word nerds. Build confidence and become a stronger reader, writer, and communicator!

This fun and hilarious vocabulary builder:

Includes over 750 high-level, wondrous, and wacky words!

With sample sentences and word history that help new words make sense!

Bright and fun illustrations make learning new words fun!

Allows to search by category so new word choices are easy to find!

Kids with strong vocabularies are better readers, better writers, and even feel more confident tackling math and science. When a kid wants to learn a new word, we often send them to the dictionary or a thesaurus. But dictionaries only work if you know exactly the word you want. This dictionary-thesaurus hybrid is organized by theme and puts words in context with fun, engaging and hilarious sentences, pictures, and fun facts. You'll learn what words mean and then actually use them!

GOODREADS   /   AMAZON   /   B&N   /   BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

Words, words, and more words fill every page with meanings, curiosities, and simply fun things to say.

While I thought this one would be more...well, I don't know what I thought, but it wasn't the twist on a traditional dictionary setting. But no worries because it's not completely traditional, either. The entire book is divided into chapters with a Table of Contents in the beginning to help locate each theme highlighted. These are titled in entertaining ways which also hint at the enclosed category of words. For example, 'itchy feet' leads into words surrounding travel. Each chapter begins with a short paragraph of explanation. The words follow with only a few on each page. Each one is accompanied by a pronunciation, word form, and the meaning(s). On the side, there are more facts, which have been divided into Roots, Pop Culture, and Level Up, which give extra information about a word's origins, cultural importance, and interesting facts surrounding the word, respectively.

This is one of those books, which can draw a reader in for hours as they search, find silly or interesting tidbits, and discover all sorts of things, they didn't know before. While everything is very information and fact based, it is entertaining. Not only are the words themselves amusing to say or use, but the history or usage behind some of them are packed with curiosities or silly facts. These make it easier to remember the word and to broaden knowledge in a way, which isn't easily forgotten. The information is clear and easy to understand, but then, it is written in a fun way, too.

Bright colors accompany every page, allowing the words with their definitions to playfully placed. So, although they have the same format as a dictionary, they are much more pleasantly placed with an atmosphere of fun. 

It's a great way to get kids to use and discover new words. After all, there are more than a couple they can use with their friends...and even to impress an adult or two. It's playful and still packs even more information with fun historical and cultural tidbits. It's a great way to broaden younger readers' vocabularies...and even that of some adults.