Monday 7 July 2008

The Children's Writer's Wordbook


I bought The Children's Writer's Wordbook by Alijandra Mogilner a few year's ago when I was on holiday in Florida. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in writing for children.


I refer to it all the time when I need to find a suitable word or want to make sure a word I'm about to use is suitable to the age of my intended reader. The book is a comprehensive guide to vocabulary for children's writers and includes:




  • an alphabetical word list of all the words used


  • secondary lists which relate to school grades


  • a thesaurus of the words listed, with reading levels for each synonym


  • useful tips and advice on the best words to use


  • samples of writing at different reading levels


Don't miss the extras in the back of the book. Under the Heading, 'Some Things You'll Need to Know' the author offers expert advice and insight on unusual words, being politically correct, tags and word count. Theme and Content, Age Groups and Reading Levels, and even Other Types of Writing are also dealt with in an expert but friendly manner. A Bibliography and list of other books for writers are included too.



If you write for children and haven't got The Children's Writer's Word Book already, it's well worth investing in and using.

16 comments:

Carma Dutra said...

Dorothy, I have this book also and I agree that it is a treasure trove for many writers.

Carma
http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com

Judy said...

Hi Dorothy,
Someday - in my spare time - I would like to write a book for my grandson so this is an excellent resource for me.
Thanks for the great tip.

Take care,
Judy
http://www.localfoodconnections.com

LISA HOLDREN said...

Hey Dorothy,

Finding those books that really click and make a difference for us in our work can be very exciting. Sounds like this is a winner.

Lisa H.
http://findingpeacemomentbymoment.blogspot.com

Lisa Kirby said...

Hi, Dorothy,

I don't have this one but will have to check into it. Books like this make a difference in our writing, though.

Have a wonderful evening...

Lisa Kirby
www.familyfunandfood.blogspot.com

Theresa Schultz said...

Hi Dorothy,

I bought this book years ago when I was writing for children. It's an excellent resource.

Regards,
Theresa
Stress-FreeParent.blogspot.com

Lisa Kirby said...

Dorothy,

The site looks great. The new pictures add so much.

Keep up the good work.

Lisa Kirby
www.familyfunandfood.blogspot.com

T. Forehand said...

Great post and I agree it is a must have if you are writing for children. I have a copy myself. Thanks for the information.
Warmly,
Terri
http://heartfeltwords4kids.blogspot.com

Dorit Sasson said...

Hi, Dorothy,

This book is a great resource. A few weeks ago, a writer was concerned with some language choices at a local writer's meeting thinking that her 1960's language is not appealing to 2008 readers. Now I have a title to share with the group. Thanks!

Yea!

Great post.
Dorit
http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Looks like a very interesting resource.

KittyCat said...

Hi Dorothy - this books sounds like a great reference! Gonna add it to my list of books to get for Christmas.

Cheers,
KittyCat
http://RightReads.com

Deepa Agarwal said...

Hi Dorothy,

Thanks for the tip. It sounds like a great resource. Enjoyed all the information on your blog. I write for kids too, but in India.

Deepa

Michai Freeman said...

What a great tip. I am a health professional and anticipate writing stories for kids in the future. Thanks for sharing.

Michai
www.nothingsstoppingu.blogspot.com

Livestrong4815 said...

As a teacher I have to agree with the value of this book, its a must own


Novelbugz.com - Donate your used books and help

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing. I'm a freelance writer/teacher who's just learning about blogging etc. If you have time-check out my blog. I'm not getting comments-any suggestions?

Thanks, kathy

Herbski said...

Try reading Alone in the wide, wide sea by Morpurgo. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

Herbski
www.herbskifootball.blogspot.com

Madison said...

I'm glad there's a book like this! I really need to invest in it...it sounds like a great book and a very helpful one at that (and this hopeful author needs all the help she can get!)

Madison
http://madisonlovestowrite.blogspot.com