Oxford Roald Dahl dictionary

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A new unique Roald Dahl Dictionary from Oxford. This is not an ordinary dictionary. After all, you wouldn't expect an "Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary" to be ordinary, would you? Lots of dictionaries tell you what an "alligator" is, or how to spell "balloon" but they won't explain the difference between a "ringbeller" and a "trogglehumper", or say why witches need "gruntles eggs" or suggest a word for the shape of a "Knid". This dictionary does all those things. All the words that Roald Dahl invented are here, like "biffsquiggled" and "whizzpopping" to remind you what means what, but that is not all. You'll also find out where words came from, rhyming words, synonyms and lots of alternative words for words that are overused. Oxford Children's Dictionaries are perfect for supporting literacy and learning and this is the world's first Roald Dahl Dictionary from the word experts at Oxford University Press. With real citations from Roald Dahl's children's books and illustrations by Quentin Blake, this is authoritative, engaging and accessible and will inspire and encourage young writers and readers.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-5-Roald Dahl fans, writers, and lovers of language will delight in this unusual dictionary filled with whimsical wordplay and full-color illustrations by Blake. In each entry, a quote from one of Dahl's stories or poems uses the word in a sentence (for instance, for "scrumdiddlyumptious," from The BFG, "Fleshlumpeater says he is never eating queen and he thinks perhaps she has an especially scrumdiddlyumptious flavour"). Each spread contains several nonsense or invented terms or names of characters from the author's books; these are highlighted in blue to differentiate them from standard English words. In addition, there are "ringbelling rhymes" for would-be poets, "sparky synonyms," and lengthier sidebars called "Gobblefunking with Words," which may prompt lessons on subjects such as similes, metaphors, prefixes, suffixes, alliteration, spoonerisms, compound words, and onomatopoeia. Teachers will find the detailed lists of synonyms for commonly used words ("big," "small," "bad," "good," "move," and "say") particularly useful for aspiring writers. Occasional "Did You Know?" headings and footnotes discuss word origins and interesting facts ("A malapropism is when you use a word by miss cake"). Teachers and librarians might want to feature a Dahl "word of the day" during this centennial year-or any year. VERDICT A delightful, inspiring, and unique reference for most collections.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This delightful book compiled by Rennie (Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland) goes beyond any typical dictionary for children, given that it consists only of words used by Roald Dahl in his stories and poems. Entries include "extra usual words" invented by Dahl to describe to describe noises ("gruntle"), fictional characters ("Augustus Gloop"), fantastical creatures ("hornswoggler"), and any other utterly marvelous thing ("frumptious"). It is a very timely publication, as Dahl fans celebrated what would have been his 100th birthday in September 2016. Organized alphabetically, entries include entertaining sample sentences from Dahl's works and colorful, visually appealing illustrations by illustrator Blake. Highlighted discussions under the heading "Gobblefunking with words" occur throughout the book, providing context for invented words and such utterances as chatter, or "babblement." The audience for this book is readers from ages seven to adult--precisely all those able to read Dahl's works. This title is similar to The Pottersaurus: 1,500 Words Harry Potter Readers Need to Know (2007), which offers kid-friendly definitions of high-level vocabulary words that appear in the Harry Potter series. Educators who are using Dahl's fiction or poems in the classroom will find this an excellent supplementary text for inspiring children to play with words. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. --Susan A. Ariew, University of South Florida

Kirkus Book Review

Wordplay has its day in this extra-usual compilation of lexicographical delights drawn from Dahls works.ONLY REALLY INTERESTING WORDS are allowed in this dictionary, writes compiler Rennie, and the contents cleave to that stricture with a wacksey (splendidly huge) mix of those conventional but nonetheless gloriumptious locutions (like aardvark or sneeze, printed in black) and wondercrump original coinages (in blue) with which the masters prose is laced. Every entry comes with a brief definition and one or more sentences from a specified work quoted to demonstrate usage. Each also includes part of speech, alternate forms, and, very often, either cross references (Another mushious fruit is the snozzberry) or a linguistic excursion into grammar, the history of words, real-world cognates, or derivations. One frequently recurring extra feature challenges would-be versifiers to find Ringbelling Rhymes, and another offers examples and guidelines for making any writing zippfizz along by Gobblefunking with Words. Major characters, creatures, and candies also earn diddly (individual or distinct) slots in the alphabet. That the pages are positively festooned with Blakes color cartoon illustrations, all drawn from the novels, just puts the golden ticket into the Wonka bar. Snapperwhippers arent the only readers who will find this equally delumptious as a dictionary, a source of inspiration, and a way of revisiting a shelf of phizz-whizzing classics. (Reference. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.