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Ursula Dubosarsky

The Word Snoop: A Wild and Witty Tour of the English Language! Hardcover – 9 July 2009

by Ursula Dubosarsky (Author)

21 ratings

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Meet the Word Snoop. She?s dashing and daring and witty as can be?and no one knows more about the evolution of the English language than she does. Luckily, she?s spilling her secrets in this gem of a book. From the first alphabet in 4000 BC, to anagrams, palindromes, and modern-day text messages, readers will learn all about the fascinating twists and turns our fair language has taken to become what it is today.

With playful black-and-white illustrations, riddles to solve, and codes to break, The Word Snoop is definitive proof that words can spark the imagination and are anything but dull. This is a book for every aspiring writer, and every true reader.

Reading age

10 years and up
Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Grade level

5 - 6
Dimensions

13.67 x 2.54 x 18.42 cm
Publisher

Dial Books
Publication date

9 July 2009
ISBN-10

0803734069
ISBN-13

978-0803734067
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dial Books (9 July 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0803734069
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0803734067
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 years and up
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.67 x 2.54 x 18.42 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 337,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 194 in Children's Books on Grammar
- 248 in Children's Books on Word Games
- 1,734 in Children's Books on History

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

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5 star		56%
4 star		16%
3 star		13%
2 star		7%
1 star		8%

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Anjana

Paid 800plus.too high pricece

Reviewed in India on 3 September 2019

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Price too high

ND

Excellent book

Reviewed in India on 10 March 2020

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Great for kids to improve their vocabulary

Lisa

Fun for lovers of linguistics and languages

Reviewed in the United States on 2 August 2013

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Originally published in Australia as The Word Spy, The Word Snoop can easily be read, and thoroughly enjoyed, by native English speakers from any country. Non-native speakers may not be ready for some of English’s more peculiar conventions, but ESL teachers would do well to have a copy on hand in case an advanced student starts to ask questions about anything from punctuation marks to malapropisms. Running about 233 pages long, excluding a fine table of contents, glossary, and answer key, The Word Snoop may at first appear daunting to young readers. Starting from the very beginning, though, the narrator (who calls herself The Word Snoop) brings the reader in, making them feel more as though they are unearthing mysteries rather than reading an informational book on the English language. Light illustrations by Tohby Riddle serve to give readers examples, an occasional laugh, and a reason to keep turning the page. Puzzles throughout and codes to be broken following each chapter make this not only an interesting read, but a fun activity book! Reading with a friend, or competing with a friend, on the puzzles and codes could add a whole new level to the enjoyment of the book. Elementary teachers could use the puzzles as classroom activities; for what child does not enjoy the challenge of a rebus?

The Word Snoop does have a few minor flaws. In-text examples oftentimes do not provide the answers. Dubosarsky, or The Word Snoop, will hint at the answer, sometimes very obviously, but what is obvious to an adult may not always be obvious to a child. For example, in the section on anagrams the examples are given of Samuel Butler’s novel concerning an imaginary country called Erewhon. Nowhere (get it?), though, does she ever tell the reader what the correct anagram is. As an adult it becomes obvious, but as a child, frustration may leave the answer just out of grasp. Another example from the same section is Tribnia from Gulliver’s Travels. Young people are likely to have not yet read Jonathan Swift’s classic, leaving them without the huge clue that natives in the story call Tribnia, ‘Langden.’ I realize how tempting it is to leave it up in the air, for Dubosarsky is surely trying to give children a chance to figure it out on their own, but perhaps an additional key after the glossary and code keys would do well to ease frustrated readers. (And for my frustrated readers: Langden = England, Tribnia = Britain).

3 people found this helpful

Annie

An interesting look into the language

Reviewed in the United States on 12 July 2013

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Although I find that this book has an textual approach that seems for younger students/readers, I am grateful for all the explanations and
fun games with words that fills its joyful pages, adorned with creative drawings. A good read for second language people like me, and all those who love language anyway.

2 people found this helpful

oh-so-busy

Great resource

Reviewed in the United States on 4 August 2013

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As a homeschooler I'm always looking for fun and interesting ways to add vocabulary to our day. My kids love to read and this book is a great way to accomplish that.

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The Word Snoop: A Wild and Witty Tour of the English Language! Hardcover – 9 July 2009

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