Tag Ian Morris

Wonderful Words That Tell A Tale

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Wonderful Words That Tell A Tale
Tom Read Wilson, illustrated by Ian Morris
Words & Pictures

Presented by word wizard Tom Read Wilson, this is another collection, alphabetically organised, of fascinating facts and anecdotal stories related to everyday words. There are four words for every letter of the alphabet and each starts with an amusing ‘star word’ poem/story after which come a definition, information about its origin, meaning and etymology.

Did you know for example that astronauts wore nappies during take off and space walks as it’s impossible to go to the loo, so instead they use what are called MAGs (Maximum Absorbency Garments).

What about those jeans you love to wear: the word denim is a contraction of ‘serge of Nimes’( a French city), serge being a heavy fabric from which lumberjacks’ workwear was made. I loved discovering this palindromic phrase – palindromes need not be single words, we’re told – is made up of seven words – ‘Murder for a jar of red rum’.

Assuredly a book to encourage children to enjoy language and words for their own sake as well as showing how the English language has evolved and continues to do so. Have a copy in your classroom collection: youngsters can have fun reading it, enjoy the humour in Ian Morris’s illustrations, then go home and impress their parents and siblings with what they’ve discovered.

Every Word Tells A Story

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Every Word Tells A Story
Tom Read Wilson, illustrated by Ian Morris
Words & Pictures

This is one of those books about which you think, right I’ll just give it a bit of time, sufficient to write a review, only to find that it’s drawn you right in and a couple of hours have passed.

There are four words for each letter of the alphabet, each letter having for the first of the four, a funny, short, rhyming story, followed by a definition, information about its origin, meaning and its etymology, together with a humorous illustration by Ian Morris, the lead ones occupying most of the spread.
Did you know that a rhinoceros can produce as much as twenty five kg of poo every day?

Or that the word rhino is Ancient Greek for nose, and furthermore dung comes from the Danish dynga meaning heap? I certainly didn’t but I did however know that the word rupee comes from the Sanskrit meaning ‘beautiful form”; I have a considerable number of these coins tucked away in various purses on account of my frequent trips to India.

Whether it’s fun anecdotal stories or fascinating facts that you are interested in, you are certain to find plenty of both in this exploration of everyday words that shows how the English language evolved (and indeed still is). Equally it’s likely to encourage children to enjoy words and language for their own sakes. Supplying additional humour, illustrator, Ian Morris brings every entry to life with his dynamic pen and watercolour illustrations.