As a teacher of gifted learners, this book was PERFECT! We are always challenged to find them new vocabulary words and encourage them to grow their language abilities. The Dictionary of Difficult Words will be perfect for our word-a-day moments and for those children who just love words. I already ordered it!

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that was able to combine a compelling narrative with excellent illustrations and character arcs.

I very much wish that<i> The Dictionary of Difficult Words</i> by Jane Solomon was around when I was a child. You see, when I was a kid I just flipped to random pages in the dictionary and wrote down the ones that I found interesting and a part of me feels as though I would have found many more useful ones if I'd had books like this that had already picked out some of the better words to begin with. As an adult, I have to admit, I had a lot of fun reading this book. Frankly, I don't think this book is one that only benefits children. And that, I think, is one of the best things about it.

<i>The Dictionary of Difficult Words</i> is almost just as it sounds, but I feel it might be more accurate to call it the dictionary of interesting and often unused words. Of course, that title might be a bit too lengthy. And while I did know quite a few of these words, I was over the moon thrilled to learn a few new ones whilst reading this. I can say if I had a child of my own, I would probably have already bought myself a copy of this book. It has a lot of merit, I think, in getting children interested in new words in ways that might not have cropped up before. I mean, not every kid in the world is going to be like me and actually pick up one of those ridiculously heavy dictionaries to read on their own free time.

But this one, with the colorful illustrations and the brilliant manner in which the words are presented, could be pretty grabbing for quite a few kids. The truth is that I have a lot of respect and love for this book. At the end of it all, I know I'd really like to see it on a lot of shelves in the future. It will definitely end up on mine someday.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The Dictionary of Difficult Words is for incurably curious. Come and join our secret lexicophile club. Some of these words are not that rare ('penultimate' and 'zilch' to give a few examples), they are just difficult to spell or pronounce, and others are hard to explain and tricky to use correctly. Luckily, this dictionary has easy-to-understand definitions and fun illustrations to help both adults and children discover and remember these quirky word gems.
This book would make a great addition to a school library or a family bookshelf.
Thank you to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books (Quarto Publishing Group) for the DRC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Jane Solomon has delighted me with this fantastic and beautifully illustrated children’s dictionary.

“The Dictionary of Difficult Words” is brimming with fun, useful, obsolescent, and weird words. Some of my favourites are:

Blatherskite – a person who talks a lot, but says things that are meaningless or foolish.
Clowder – a group of cats.
Sesquipidalian – someone who knows lots of big words and enjoys using them.

I like learning new words, and it’s even better if the word is more obscure. That is why “The Dictionary of Difficult Words” caught my attention, as I wanted to see the additions I could find to broaden my vocabulary.

I loved this book and I learned so much from it. It was well written and an awesome book on which to build a child's vocabulary whilst having a laugh with words at the same time! The illustrations were very quaint and this would be a great book for a parent and child to enjoy together.

I rated this book with five stars but as I try to use emojis other than stars, let's give it a clowder.

😺🙀😼😻😾

I highly recommend this wonderful book!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Quarto Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A lovely resource for any parent or teacher to have, to help children with their reading. Would recommend to all.

What a beauty. Although by all intents and purposes this seems like a children's book this is a perfect addition to the library or bookshelf of anyone interested in the English language and all of the weird, wonderful and often underused words that make it so fascinating. Each word is clearly defined in accessible, easily understood terms and the correct pronunciation is also given; that is of course very helpful. The bright, bold colours surrounding the words and the accompanying illustrations make this a must-have for schools and local libraries. Most regular people don't read dictionaries front to back, but I must admit this is so engaging that I did exactly that. That said, it also lends itself well to those wishing to dip in and out at their leisure.

There are four pages dedicated to each letter of the alphabet and with some of them being silly sounding they will keep a child's attention. It's a fun way to build their vocabulary. Specifically designed for children who are intrigued by words and those who wish to perhaps get more into reading, this is a superb book. The nifty introduction has some wise words regarding the correct way to use a dictionary and also how to establish the meaning of a word through its composition. Looking at the last letters of a word can often reveal their meaning - e.g. -phile, -ology, -graph, -ism etc. This is the most fun, educational and aesthetically pleasing dictionary you're likely to find. Many thanks to Frances Lincoln Children's Books for an ARC.

This is a super cute, utterly useful, and very interesting dictionary of uncommon words. It is perfect for young readers who enjoy reading. It gives easy to understand definition and helps with pronunciation. It would be the perfect gift for a young child who enjoys reading and learning. Some of the words are pretty rare whilst others are just a little obscure for a child's vocabulary. However, they are all usable and fun in their own way.

And it's such a great book to read. It is full of fantastic illustrations and is so easy to dip in and out of. It's a colourful and fun approach to learning. It won't put young people off learning about the English language and will, hopefully, inspire them in the future.

I'm quite erudite and familiar with a lot of singular or putatively obscure words, but there were still some in here that I found new or otherwise interesting. I imagine this will be a useful book for any logophile - or if they were not one when they started reading this, they will undoubtedly be so by the time they're finished! The book devotes around two pages to each letter of the alphabet providing a total of some 400 words in all. It's illustrated amusingly by Lockhart and compiled by Solomon. Lockhart and Solomon sounds like a law firm doesn't it? Or an office of private investigators!

But I digress! This is definitely a book for anyone who loves words or who is interested in writing, and if you don't love words, you really have no business being a writer!

The Dictionary of Difficult Words is a delightful book for budding wordsmiths!
A brief introduction gives the reader permission to read the book straight through from A to Z to learn new things, or not read it at all, and just look at the pictures.
The illustrations are whimsical and eye-catching. With interesting pictures and cool words like Quixotic and Salubrious, I don’t doubt that whatever approach is taken new words will be learned.
My only recommendation for a change would be to replace the word “Difficult” in the title. I fear that could be off-putting to some children who would otherwise benefit from this book. This collection of words may more aptly be described as “less common”. I dare say most adults would gain from perusing this volume.
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This book was a wonderful exploration of language that any logophile (a lover of words) will enjoy and that would make a welcome addition to classrooms and libraries.

Each letter of this dictionary covers two double page spreads with a number of words and definitions for each letter accompanied by illustrations, as well as a full page illustration to supplement the definition of one of the words. Reading a dictionary is often seen as something boring or tedious, but this was anything but. With simple and easy to understand explanations, and eye-catching design, it is a great way to explore vocabulary and encourage the use of more daring or exciting words in an accessible way. It’s not necessarily a book you’d read cover to cover (even though I did and enjoyed it) but is a great book to dip in and out of, and could be made use of in a classroom setting.

As an adult, there were a number of words I was already familiar with, so it was especially a treat when a word I didn’t know came up- some favourites include: ailurophile (because I do indeed love cats and have never encountered this word before) and blatherskite (because it is fun to say- see also: cockalorum, flapdoodle and flibbergibbet to highlight just a few delights this book has to offer.)

Overall a good book that I’d love to own in physical copy.

A book to prevent circumlocution and obfuscation, and make one a bit more grandiloquent and sesquipedalian instead (if not fully extemporaneous). Yes, from those down to 'droll' and simple place-fillers like 'gale', this book is a guide to some of the more extreme corners of our word use, but still suited to the primary school audience. Yes, six-syllable words can be seen to be throwing kids into the deep end, but I think that's a good thing, and the subjects of the words here are all suitably age-appropriate, and easily conveyed. It's all harmless fun, is easy to browse – and with my more Scrabble-leaning vocab, still taught me a couple of things. A couple of entries seemed a little too obscure, or easy, or neologisms (a 'dabster', anyone?!) but I'd rate this highly for the school library.

The Dictionary of Difficult Words is an illustrated dictionary of useful, fun, obsolete/obsolescent, weird, wonderful, and difficult words. Due out 2nd May 2019 on Quarto's Frances Lincoln imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. Author Jane Soloman is a professional lexicographer and iconographer. Artist Louise Lockheart's quirky illustrations give an enthusiastic feeling to the listings (see cover art).

This would have appealed to me immensely as a kid. I have always loved language and the incredible richness of English especially. This would make a superlative library book or gift for the sesquipedalian person in your life, adults and youngsters alike.

Five stars. Really fun and worthwhile.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

The Dictionary of Difficult Words by Jane Solomon

This is a book I would LOVE to buy for my granddaughters! I can just see them walking into class and saying that they were feeling ramfeezled after the long trip back to Alabama from Bali or perhaps ask their parents why their teacher was flummoxed at work. There are so MANY wonderful words in this book that I can see a family learning one new word a day or even a week then using that word in the right way at least once during the day. I have to admit there were a few new words to me or perhaps ones that I just haven’t seen or used often enough to stick with me BUT what a smorgasbord of words there are in this book to tantalize a wordsmith!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children’s Books ~ This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I like this a lot! Each letter of the alphabet has four pages over which 15 or so more difficult words are defined and illustrated. For each letter there is also one special word that gets a full-page illustration and a bit more explanation.

The illustrations here won't appeal to everyone, but there is a plethora of information within the pages that will keep even the most precocious polymath busy for quite some time.

4 strong stars for this suprisingly interesting dictionary.

Thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with a DRC of this book.

This book is an awesome book to build a child's vocabulary and to have fun with words at the same time! The illustrations are very whimsical and inviting and the "difficult words "spark a lot of conversation. This is a great book for a parent and child to devour together!

This book is so much fun! I can see me reading it with my grandson who is just learning how to read and sound out big words. Then I can imagine discussions around some of the more silly sounding ones like ZEDONK and ZEGUMA!

The Dictionary of Difficult Words
by Jane Solomon, Louise Lockhart (Illustrator)
This is a fun children's book that I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. It has a wonderful selection of words, what they mean, and how to say them. Some words are quite the mouthful! It is sure to make for some conversations and laughter. I think this will be a fun book for kids that like something different. This book makes learning fun.

This is a dictionary, but not a typical one. It is designed for children who are intrigued by words or who could use something to help them to become more interested in words and reading. Appealingly illustrated and wisely selected, the entries are entertaining and informative.

The author playfully suggests ways to read the book. A few examples include back to front, front to back, by opening to a random page, etc. The idea is that exploring words should be intriguing. Before getting started, there are a couple of helpful sections; one describes the parts of speech and another offers hints for decoding some words (for example phile referring to loving something).

The words themselves are appealing. Some, even if arcane, I knew while others I came across for the first time. Often difficult to pronounce or spell, the child who learns them will feel mighty clever!

This book deserves its place in homes and schools. It is a perfect book to browse through and enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this informative book. All

I like learning new words, and its even better if the word is obscure. The Dictionary of Difficult Words immediately caught my eye, and I wanted to see what additions to my vocabulary I could find.

Before you get into the definitions, there is a brief overview of the book and what you'll find, then a short lesson on parts of speech and how you can work out definitions and pronunciations of words. Then, at least for me, the fun begins.

There is a mix of commonly used and more obscure words. Some of them I grew up hearing, but there were several that I had not heard of, but will start looking for ways to drop them into my conversations. I think that anyone who likes words will find something to like in the book.

Even though it contains difficult words, they are defined in a simple way. In fact, even older kids could probably learn with them fairly easily. The definitions are in plain language and the pronunciation guides are easy to follow. There are colorful pictures on each page that show some of the definitions.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.