war on words
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I've got to be honest and up front here and say I have a big gripe with this book. The concept is great, a list of words that children learn at varying stages in their education: great. However, if you live in the UK, or any other country that doesn't use the American school system, this book suddenly becomes very pointless. You see, all the words are grouped by the grades that American schools use. If, like me, you live outside the US then these grades mean nothing, and the vocabulary that the children are taught will vary from country to country. My advice? Steer clear of this book, and if you live in the UK, buy the National Literacy Strategy (or look at it free on the governments website).
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take with a pinch of salt
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This book is broadly useful in the word lists it suggests, most seem age appropriate and the age linked thesaurus feature is particularly useful for modifying the vocabulary of the clueless like me. The reader's judgment can't be suspended completely however, some of the words it suggests seem a little odd e.g. one of the examples suggests 'odometer' as a fourth grade (10-11 year old) word. It also needs to be borne in mind that some of the vocabulary is exclusively American but this can be reasonably easily edited out. Possibly a bigger problem is that the book has been designed with the American curriculum in mind so some subject specific words may be introduced in the wrong age group.
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Extremely Helpful
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Having been a little skeptical at first I sat down with the book and it found it really useful. Its not only a book of words to aid in the writing of childrens books but also a good reference as to what publishers are looking for in a decent book. If you are even considering writing for children of any age, you should buy this great book. I cant imagine what I did without it!
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