Where do words come from?—Teaching kids ages 9 to 12 vocabulary through word origins The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language. Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there's a whole world of English words to uncover! This unique dictionary for kids includes: Roots & branches—Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Kid-friendly definitions—Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids. Word tidbits—Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond. See how the English language evolved with this colorful dictionary for kids.

Where do words come from?--Learning new words by understanding their stories The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word-origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language. Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there's a whole world of English words to uncover! This unique dictionary for kids includes: Roots & branches--Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Kid-friendly definitions--Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids. Word snack--Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond. See how the English language evolved--from its beginnings to today--with this colorful dictionary for kids.

Originally published: Nashville: Howard Books, 2012.

From the authors who created the One Word movement, impacting schools, businesses, and sports teams around the world, comes a charming fable that can be read and shared by everyone. If you could choose only one word to help you have your best year ever, what would it be? Love? Fun? Believe? Brave? It’s prob­ably different for everyone. How you find your word is just as important as the word itself. And once you know your word, what do you do with it? In One Word for Kids, bestselling author Jon Gordon—along with coauthors Dan Britton and Jimmy Page—asks these questions to children and adults of all ages, teaching an important life lesson in the process. This engaging, fully illustrated fable follows Stevie, a young boy falling asleep on the first day of school. His teacher gives the class an assignment: to find the one word that will help them have their best year ever. To discover their one word, they must look inside themselves, look up, and look out. At home, Stevie is upset be­cause he can’t find his word. After his dad offers some helpful advice, Stevie excitedly begins the quest for his word. His search helps him discover a lot about himself, what he loves, and what is important to him. An easy read with a powerful message, One Word for Kids appeals to readers of all ages and is an ideal entry point into discussing a valuable lesson in a fun and engaging way.

Perfect for gift-giving, here isTHE alphabet book to top all others, an over-sized work of brilliance from the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Day the Crayons Quit! If words make up the stories and letters make up the words, then stories are made up of letters. In this menagerie we have stories made of words, made FOR all the letters. The most inventive and irresistible book of the year spans a mere 26 letters (don't they all!) and 112 pages. From an Astronaut who's afraid of heights, to a Bridge that ends up burned between friends, to a Cup stuck in a cupboard and longing for freedom, Once Upon an Alphabet is a creative tour de force from A through Z. Slyly funny in a way kids can't resist, and gorgeously illustrated in a way readers of all ages will pour over, this series of interconnected stories and characters explores the alphabet in a way that will forever raise the bar. In Once Upon an Alphabet, #1 New York Times bestseller Oliver Jeffers has created a stunning collection of words and artwork that is a story book, alphabet book, and gorgeously designed art book all in one. Praise for ONCE UPON AN ALPHABET: An Amazon Best Book of 2014! A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year! A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year! A New York Times Bestseller! * "The silly, spare, slightly surreal text occasionally rhymes and endlessly surprises. An utterly delightful alphabet book."–Kirkus Review, starred review * "With wry humor, equally droll ink illustrations, and a solid dose of alliteration, Jeffers creates delightful mini-narratives for each letter of the alphabet."–Publishers Weekly, starred review * "An altogether stimulating, surprising, and satisfying reading experience."–School Library Journal, starred review * "Whimsical, funny, occasionally tragic, and highly entertaining, this collection of (sometimes) interlocking tales is brilliantly inventive."–Horn Book, starred review "Jeffers knows how to catch the attention of his young audience while challenging their imagination, intellect and vocabulary. This whimsical exploration of letters and language begs to be read over and over again."–BookPage "Handsome, humorous and clad in bright tomato-red, [this] is the sort of book you may want to rush into the arms of imaginative, good-natured children between 4 and 10 years old. [T]his is no traditional abecedarian exercise.The stories are wonderfully varied, sometimes philosophical and often end surprisingly; the drawings are just as quirky and unpredictable."–The Wall Street Journal "[W]itty from A to Z . . . no one would blame you for having a copy even if there are no kids in the house. Think of it as Edward Gorey for the preschool set — and their hip parents."–The Washington Post

Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to the wonderful world of words! You've learned the basics—from apple to zebra—but what about all those mysterious new terms you've heard the grown-ups whispering when you were supposed to be tucked up snugly in bed? What makes Mommy so bitter? Where does Daddy conceal the door to his secret S&M dungeon? And why is everyone laughing about Grandma's latest delusion? My First Dictionary answers these questions, and includes many other useful definitions, such as: A burden is a source of worry or stress. Old people are usually burdens. Father is nostalgic. He is remembering the happier times before you were born. A puppy is a young dog. Connie gets a puppy every time she agrees not to tell. Daddy calls them hush puppies. A zigzag is a jagged line. We can tell that Mother has been drinking when she drives in a zigzag pattern. Carry a copy of My First Dictionary in your schoolbag and you'll never be at a loss for words again!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a heartwarming, inspirational book to help readers understand their lives as one continuous, never-ending story, part of a grand narrative that God is writing day by day. God has a story for your life... With chapters that cover the importance of literary elements such as characters, setting, backstory, and conflict, Debbie Macomber uses the structure of a story to illustrate God’s hand in our lives. Each chapter has a storytelling prompt—a searching question that will help frame our story—and a sidebar that pulls an idea out of the chapter and expands it with practical tips. Once Upon a Time shares Debbie’s love of story and helps showcase the big picture of the story God is writing through us.