"The idea behind this book is a good one—a circus tent is filled with the quirky, eccentric sideshow of usage and convention (or lack thereof) that is the English language." —Children's Literature
Language skills will fly through the air with the greatest of ease as kids join in The Circus of Words. Children of all ages are delighted by anagrams, palindromes, acrostics, alliteration, riddles, and puns, yet few books on wordplay are addressed to middle-schoolers. This creative and challenging activity book shows kids how to juggle letters to become ringmasters of wordplay. “The Shrinking Spotlight” shows how larger words become smaller words when certain letters are removed. “Clown Cars” introduces the idea of words hiding within words, and “The Acro Bat” and “Silver Spoonerisms” show off letter clusters that change from one word to another. The whole bandwagon is here, enabling kids, who are natural language enthusiasts, to cavort through that endless entertainment, the English language.
Richard Lederer is one of the most distinguished letterers in the country. The author of many books on wordplay, including Anguished English, Get Thee to a Punnery, and Pun and Games. Dave Morice is a writer and illustrator whose books include Poetry Comics and Alphabet Avenue. He is a longtime columnist for Word Ways magazine.
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Word play (22K)
Childrens: Activity
Age Range: 9 and UP
144 pages, Trade Paper, 8 x 8
28 Line Drawings
Distribution Rights: WOR
$14.95 (CAN $16.95)
9781556523809 (1556523807) Pub Date: May 2001
Chicago Review Press