This playful collection provides a unique way to learn and explore more than 300 words. With one word per page, images are drawn with a thick black line on a white or coloured background. On a few occasions, a white image is used on a black background, for emphasis: "light" shows a bright candle in a dark room.
The images aim to amuse. Sometimes they are simple: "song" shows someone belting it out in the shower. At other times, they are more complex and need to be puzzled out: "festooned" shows a person with a giant bow covering their eyes.
Images and words are subtly linked and can be read to form phrases or poems, encouraging the reader to turn the page. Prepositions and pronouns, which are harder to illustrate, are included. "At" shows a girl knocking on a door; "each" shows a tenth toenail being painted.
The images are fun to browse through and may encourage readers to draw their own.
A helpful index provides a page guide for the words, which appear in a whimsical instead of alphabetical order, and is followed by a grammar section with illustrations of the kinds of words found in a sentence: noun, adjective, etc.
Choose a word from the index at the end of the book and illustrate its meaning in a line drawing. Compare how the author illustrated the same word in the book.
The author made deliberate choices about the book's structures and features. Why are some two-page spreads the same colour?
Choose any two-page spread and discuss how the words are connected.
Discuss how you would match words from different pages and why.
Choose a word from the endpapers and illustrate its meaning in a line drawing. Compare how the author illustrated the same word in the book.
Observe the book's structures and features. What features will help you navigate this book? Why are some pages coloured and others white?
Choose random two-page spreads. How are the words connected?