"Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids--Building Vocabulary Through Etymology, Definitions & Stories"--packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word-origin stories--see how the English language evolved--from its beginnings to today--with this colorful children's dictionary

Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids--Building Vocabulary Through Etymology, Definitions & Stories

The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word-origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language.

Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there's a whole world of English words to uncover!

This unique dictionary for kids includes:

Roots & branches--Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

Kid-friendly definitions--Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids.

Word snack--Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond.

See how the English language evolved--from its beginnings to today--with this colorful dictionary for kids.

MY REVIEW:  "Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids--Building Vocabulary Through Etymology, Definitions & Stories" is a terrific teaching tool and a fun learning experience. Both children and adults will greatly enjoy discovering the origins and definitions of many common words--and some not so common--and the language elements which come together to form those words. Author Jess Zafarris, "an award-winning innovator of digital content and marketing solutions and a prolific online and print journalist", uses etymology (the study of the way words have changed over time) to help others also become a "word detective". Filled with charming illustrations, this wonderful book is a fabulous find for lovers of words, language, and history. Along with the definitions, there are also fascinating facts such as: "All Words Tell A Story"; "Understanding Etymology"; "A Year Of Word Origins" (how each month of the year got its name): "The Loneliest Words"; "A Bellyful Of Words" (foods we love to eat); "Now That's An Earful!" (musical words); and much, much more. The featured words include a varied range form Aardvark through to Zoology. 

Book Copy Gratis Callisto Publishers

Reviews

 

“This thorough and visually delightful book is a yellow-brick road paved with ‘a-ha!’ moments. It is written in an engaging style that will open the door wide for young minds to enter the magical world where language meets history. I expect it will inspire many of them to a lifetime of discovery in an overlooked field.” ―Douglas Harper, etymonline.com

“Once Upon a Word makes learning new words fun and efficient. Jess Zafarris has written a book that is accessible to kids and educational enough for adults. Every parent and educator should keep a copy for engaged minds on hand.” ―Jordan Rosenfeld, author of How to Write a Page Turner

From the Author

 

Did you know that...

• "Amateur" comes from the Latin amatorem, meaning "lover," because an amateur does something for the love of it rather than for work?
• "Thesaurus" essentially means "treasure trove," from the Greek thesauros, meaning "treasury" or "treasure chest"?
• "Clone," comes from the Greek klon, meaning "twig" because the earliest cloning process involved breaking twigs off of plants and using them to grow new ones?
• "Brilliant" comes from a Latin word literally meaning "shining like beryl" (beryl being a category of mineral/gemstone to which emerald and aquamarine belong)?
• "Algebra" comes from the Arabic al-jabr, meaning "a reunion of broken parts," and was both an Arabic mathematical term and a medical term for setting broken bones?

Discover the magic of word origins in the pages of this new book of etymology, definitions, stories and more.

Jess Zafarris

 

Jess Zafarris is the author of Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids. She is also an award-winning innovator of digital content and marketing solutions and a prolific online and print journalist, having served as the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for Gotham Ghostwriters. Before that, she served as Content Strategist and Digital Content Director for Writer’s Digest and Script, and she still occasionally writes for WD. Her nine years of experience in digital and print content direction and marketing include such roles as editor-in-chief of HOW magazine and online content director of HOW and PRINT magazine, as well as writing for the The Hot Sheet, the Denver Business Journal, ABC News, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. 

She has a bachelors in English Literature (with minors in Arabic and Anthropology) from DePaul University and a masters in Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of Colorado Boulder. She spends much of her spare time researching curious word histories and writing about them at UselessEtymology.com. Follow her at @jesszafarris or @uselessety on Twitter, or on Instagram at @uselessetymology. 

http://uselessetymology.com