Imagine my happy gasp when I came across this book in the school’s library. It was a cross between a sharp inhale and a ‘squee’! I am so excited that Lemony Snicket has branched out from his “Series of Unfortunate Events” books to write an AWESOME read aloud book called 13 Words. This book is an amazing introduction to some higher level vocabulary words. I hope he writes an entire series of books filled with more wonderful words. Some words are complicated and some words are just old favorites, such as ‘cake.‘Older students studying for the SAT could use this book to create pneumonic devices. (Am I dating myself? Is the SAT still a thing?)
The story starts with a despondent bird sitting on a table. Later, his friend dog attempts to cheer him up by going to a haberdashery to buy him a hat. He finds a hat with lots of panache that is sure to please bird, but I won’t ruin the ending for you. This book is quite simply weird and wonderful. It would make a fun introduction to wonderful words for a classroom! Check out more by Lemony Snicket @ www.lemonysnicket.com. Let’s not forget the lovely illustrations…
Maira Kalman’s beautiful and colorful paintings make this book not only interesting to read but fun to pour over. See more of her work at www.mairakalman.com.
PS- My borrowed copy of 13 Words smells like high quality gift wrap.
Spines Out Please 