This is a very helpful book to remind us to teach our children to read by reciting poems, teaching them rhymes, and having a lot of word play in their daily life. Our kids are all grown and are readers, so we've done well. But our family has always been readers and we are very verbal and we love to play word games. Wizzy's Words gives you tons of examples but, more than that, I think the best take away is to talk to your kids, read to them, sing to them, embrace nursery rhymes, both old and new, and just have a ball talking and playing with those fun things called words. I remember years ago Dr. Dodson had a similar book. While I am now a grandfather, and don't need the daily use of poems, we read to our grandkids all the time and they read to us. And we constantly play language games. So, this book will help you to see how easy it all is. And how useful it all is. And, most of all, how fun it all is.

I really like the idea behind this book and wanted to like it more. I will use some of the rhymes in the classroom, how I feel many of the originals do the job just as well. I am sure it will have a niche market and will be well used by those who love it. Thanks for the chance to review it.

It is clear that a great deal of thought and research have gone into this book, the concept is good and the reason for producing the book is commendable. As a textbook type of book it works on a certain level and I am sure that some would find it useful. For me, however, as a creative educational consultant, it lacks the appeal of a picture book which I would be looking for if I was using it with young children and the rhymes did not make me want to use them rather than the original ones whose tunes they were using.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

One of my favorite memories of my mother is her reading nursery rhymes to me. I loved my Mother Goose books, and so did my children.
The author’s goal in Wizzy’s Words is to develop oral vocabulary. She creates rhymes that follow the pattern of nursery rhymes. Every other book has a yellow page with the vocabulary used in the previous rhymes.
My favorite rhyme in the book is One, Two, Hello to You which follows Buckle My Shoe. It has a birthday theme.
The pictures were so-so; they looked like emoticons. The rhyme Little Cold Bee ends “with a frown.” The two bees, however, have smiles.
As an educator, I feel too much emphasis is on the oral vocabulary. The original nursery rhymes have been enjoyed for centuries.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

I can't evaluate this like a reading specialist or SLP could, but, as a classroom reader, this comes across as more of a didactic tool than a recreational read. I would absolutely check in with the relevant professionals to see their thoughts on it and recommend it to caregivers with their approval, but I don't know if I'd bring it out for general classroom use at circle time or in small groups.

The rhymes seem to lean more toward form than function--there were words and expressions that I don't think my pre-K kids would understand that seem mostly to support the tune/meter rather than storytelling. This may well be an excellent resource for kids with language processing issues/delays, but unless recommended by a pro, I would probably defer to whatever interests the child for recreational reading purposes.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.