Enter An A
to Z of Twords. Conceived by the brilliant and way-outside-the-square Mr
Gresty, this gorgeous book ticks so many boxlike boxes, it’s in danger of
becoming circular.
Just
looking at the cover of this book is enough to send any book lover or
design-addict into rapture. And what of the book title – Twords? Well, twords
are made up of two words (I so hope Mr Gresty has patented this moniker)... words like butterfly, donkey, quicksand, pineapple.
One day, Mr
Gresty, who just happens to love words, became entranced at the amount of words
in the English language that comprised two independent words. He began cataloguing
these words at every opportunity, and soon had hundreds, including this A to Z
collection.
What I love
about this book is how the A to Z concept is taken to whole new levels, with
the exploration of new and combined words. For A, we learn that A is for
Arm-band. We are then given an explanation – sort of like a dictionary entry –
of Arm-band, before moving on to the descriptions of both words – Arm and Band.
On top of
this, Mr Gresty provides us some true visual splendour with his delightfully retro
graphic illustrations, using colour-blocking, silhouettes and fabulous
fontfacing. The pages are so darn attractive, you want to rend them from the
book’s spine and line them up on the walls of your child’s room (in which case you
will need three copies – two to rend, one to act as a keeper).
I adore
this book for its design aesthetics and cleverness, but I also inwardly squeal
over its glorious educational potential. School teachers and librarians would
love it, and parents who pine to combine brain-enhancement with their child’s
reading pleasure will become similarly entranced (and quite possibly find it
surprisingly difficult to unhand said book to said child).
A modern
classic, well worth seeking out. See purchasing options at www.twordsbook.com.
Title: An A to Z of Twords
Author/Illustrator: Mr Gresty
Publisher: Mr Gresty, £15.99
Publication
Date: July 2011
ISBN: 9780956928504
Format: Hard cover
For
ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
