About This Book
Reach for this book when your child is hitting a wall with the illogical rules of the English language or feeling defeated by spelling tests. Judith Viorst validates the very real frustration that comes when 'sounds like' doesn't match 'looks like' through a series of witty, backward poems starting at Z and ending at A. It is a perfect choice for children who feel like they are doing something wrong, when in fact, the language itself is the confusing culprit. This book transforms a moment of academic struggle into a shared laugh between parent and child. It normalizes the 'chaos' of learning to read and write for elementary schoolers, offering a much needed boost of confidence by showing that even adults find these linguistic quirks absurd. It is an ideal companion for 6 to 10 year olds who are transitioning from phonics to more complex vocabulary.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
There are no traditional sensitive topics like death or divorce. The book deals primarily with the frustration of academic struggle. It takes a secular, humorous, and highly realistic approach to the 'unfairness' of linguistic rules.
Ideal Reader
A second or third grader who is experiencing 'spelling anxiety.' This is the child who understands the concepts of reading but is being tripped up by the exceptions to every rule and needs to know that their confusion is a sign of intelligence, not a lack of it.
