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Bought this book today at my library book sale, just read it, and I just LOVE it. Perfect gift for one of my friend's kid!
Why?
Love the illustration style
Fun way to learn about the collective names of animals. As a non-native English speaker, I learned a lot (I'm sure other adult native speakers would learn a lot too).
At the end of the book, there are short explanations of the origins of these collective names

#2024reads #nonfiction

I read this a few months back, at times this was a touch dry but the examples and illustrations included made this an easier, fun read.

Keith Houston throws in many facts and trivia of 11 typography symbols, at times this is a touch overwhelming but at the same time fascinating. One of these is how the ampersand used to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet. I‘m still grappling with this one.

Ellen Jovin has taken her Grammar Table around the US, answering grammar questions. Here she compiles answers along with anecdotes of the times people asked. It‘s fun but information heavy, so even though Ellen is delightful in the audio, I think print would be a better way to go.

It was... okay I guess? I had been expecting a more detailed history from conception to the present, and this was more of a meditation once the author got past some 19 century warring grammar guide writers. Which isn't bad, but it also wasn't what I wanted to read.

Been prevented from reading by Adorable Kittens, but this one should be pretty fast.
(cortado with a pinch of brown sugar is my new best friend)

I don‘t know whether to be more surprised that this is on Litsy, or that it hasn‘t had a single post yet…

Pretty sure I owned an older version of this that I got from my grandmother. One of those cardboard(??) bound books from the ‘70s. I tried to find it for the pic but then I recalled that I might have thrown in out because it was in pieces (plus my Granny had filled a lot of it out anyway).

But now I‘m filling out my own. I sorta love words.

“It was raining cats and dogs, and the king was in the rain.”

Teachers can use "The King Who Rained" to introduce students to idioms and figurative language in a fun and engaging way. After reading, students can create their own playful interpretations of phrases, fostering creativity and deeper understanding of language.

This is a whimsical exploration of language and wordplay that delights young readers. Through clever illustrations and humorous scenarios, the book creatively plays with idioms and expressions, making it both entertaining and educational. Gwynne's unique approach encourages children to think about language in a fun way. It's a fantastic resource for fostering creativity and sparking discussions about the meanings of words.

I‘ve listened to a couple of McWhorter‘s Great Courses lectures on language and he‘s always informative and entertaining; like a a nerdy dad—smart but not exactly PC.

The book itself is a collection of theses about the origins of English. Tons of fascinating info but his arguments probably won‘t mean much to someone who isn‘t in or near his field. For me, I have found that I really enjoy things like etymology and other language-related topics.