Thursday, January 26, 2023

Absurd Words. A Review

Hello Friday, Hello Poets,


Jan G. Annino is hosting our round-up today at Book Seed Studio.  Make sure you visit her thoughtful, soulful, kind blog space for a poetry filler-up. She is a lifeforce of positivity that also writes. 

Last year, I heard some buzz about a new book by Tara Lazar, Absurd Words. A Kid's Fun and Hilarious Vocabulary Builder for Future Word Nerds (2022. Sourcebooks eXplore).

You might recognize Lazar's name from her many other award-winning books, blog Writing for Kids While Raising Them, especially Storystorm--a January brainstorm for picture book writers (although I've used the daily prompts for poem writing).

Like any good school librarian, I asked my public library to order a copy so I could see it in person before purchasing it. 

I love Absurd Words! This book nudged me hard toward choosing WORD as my O-L-W for 2023.

First, like all of Lazar's books, this book is funny! The table of contents offers Word Squads instead of chapters in bright, middle-grade-friendly colors and topics. See the humorous figurative language and turns of phrases? 


See Kirkus' Five Star Review


Absurd Words highlights uncommon words for the 9-13-year-old set as outstanding nonfiction. Readers learn in etymology, usage, grammar, and the context in short, tightly written paragraphs...ALL the things old timers like us used to get out of Grandma's Reader's Digest but in today's kid-friendly way. Here's a page I especially love:



I now have Absurd Words as an eBook in my school library. And, I'm delighted that I can use it for lessons and passive programming at our maker station with simple word/definition matches. Even if you are older than 13, I'll bet you will enjoy browsing through this gem of a book written for future words nerds. 

My WORD poem today comes from this book and is on the padlet.




13 comments:

  1. Linda, please share when you create a lesson around this book. I especially love the word "sesquipedalian." I think my gifted kids would have a fun time with all these words.

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  2. I can see why this book influenced your OLW choice! (Love your ABSURD padlet poem!!) I, too, will be a good consumer and reserve this from the library before I (likely) purchase it. I'm thinking it will pair nicely with Dictionary for a Better World and Julie Paschkis' The Wordy Book (surely you know this one? if not...you'll LOVE it). I'm planning to push-shove-gently-nudge my readers out of their comfort zone this spring with some writing. These three books will be my launchpad.

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  3. Oh, what a fun source of inspiration. I love knowing about this book -- and the books Mary Lee mentions, too! Yay for new source material!

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  4. I would have loved this book as a kid (you know, the one who read the dictionary for fun), and as a teacher. Who am I kidding? I would still love it now! Thanks for sharing it. I enjoyed your delightfully absurd poem, too.

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  5. Thanks for introducing me to this book - it sounds like a lot of fun. And I loved both your absurd poems - the acrostic was a bonus :)

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  6. The book sounds & looks like just plain fun, Linda, & your "word" poem is 'absurdly' terrific! (Your year of the 'word' is going to be very interesting!)

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  7. Oh "my word" what a fabulously fun word poem Linda, thanks for all the smiles, and preview of Tara'a book! 🥰

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  8. We are all using the *word* fun to respond to this book and what fun to be in the company of people who find words--absurd and otherwise--actual fun! I hope that your OLW this year will bring you as much range and surprise as your past choices.

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  9. Thanks for the nice review of Tara's new word book -- looks fabulous!! Also enjoyed your fun Absurd poem :). I think I may need a blue housecoat now . . . ~ Jama

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  10. Oh, I forgot about this book! Might need to get it for my library too!

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  11. What a fun poem! Love that you ended it with a nod to your OLW!

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  12. I must get Tara's book! Thank you for sharing it here. Wonderful acrostic!

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  13. Thanks, Linda--just added this to my tbr shelf!

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Friendly, positive comments and feedback are always welcome here. Please let me know I'm not just whistling in the dark!