Want to read a REALLY good book?

Yesterday, my husband gave me a book as a gift for Mother's Day, as well as a can opener I had specially requested and a pair of shoes I chose for myself, but it's the book I want to tell you about.

The book's title is The Word Spy and its author is Ursula Dubosarsky. I haven't finished reading it yet, but I know it's not going to take me long. It is fascinating me. The title appears on the front cover in collage fashion, each letter written or represented in an original manner. Tohby Riddle, the illustrator, adds sweet little silhouettes and animals into the mix. The statement below this title, 'Come and discover the secrets of the English language...', is an invitation to embark upon an adventure, and from cover to cover, that is what this book is. The reader is directly addressed and challenged to participate in unravelling a secret message, clues to each part of the message appearing at the end of each chapter.

With chapter titles such as 'Why is English so strange?' and 'Dots and dashes, interrobangs and cat's claws', it would be easy to assume that the book is a light-hearted look at the English language although lacking in substance. You couldn't be more wrong. It is fun and it is nothing like any English textbook I've ever seen, but it's also very clever, informative and extremely well-researched. As I read, I can't help feeling I've joined a special and very exclusive little club.

I've already learnt a lot, such as being glad I work from the 26 letter English alphabet rather than the 70 letter Khmer alphabet of Cambodia, and I am looking forward to discovering much more about the English language, as well as deciphering the book's secret message along the way.

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/