'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday 22 June 2021

Review: The Art of Words

Many of us as children at school, were given a list of letters or a big word, and told to see how many new words we could make from them. What fun that was, and we learnt so much!

If you have never considered how spectacular the alphabet can be, thought-provoking proof lies between the covers of this book.

Clever, colourful, and creative, with full page illustrations, Robert Vescio’s The Art of Words is highly imaginative, entertaining, and a unique early learning tool.

Hats off to Joanna Bartel, who makes art out of words with her stunning illustrations.

Letters! Everywhere you look, there they are! Communication depends on the alphabet. Put letters anywhere. They’ll always behave the way you want them to.

Opposites and basic punctuation are explored. They boast about how the use of a comma, full stop, exclamation or question mark, has the power to change the role of a word.

Words! What more valuable thing can you own? They come in different sizes and can be joined to others to change their meaning.

They can be read back-to-front and still make sense, cut in the middle, added to, or reformed. You can take them anywhere with you. They are very social.

They are free to collect. Kids can put as many letters on a line as they want and test themselves to see what they can create with their chosen ones. Games are not only played on electronic devices, or with toys. Try something new with letters and words.

At this moment, I am stringing letters together to create words for this review. Ask yourself, what is the greatest tool used for learning and literacy?

This will make a wonderful and valuable addition to all classrooms, homes and libraries and preschools. Highly visual, The Art of Words is an adventure through learning and expression.

 Title: The Art of Words
Author: Robert Vescio
Illustrator: Joanna Bartel
Publisher: Exisle, $ 24.99
Publication Date: 5 April 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781925820843
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book