Thursday, December 22, 2011

Word Play

The wooden NOEL blocks on our mantel sometimes read LONE or LEON. The WELCOME blocks near the front door are currently missing LCO, and the M is inverted to spell WE WE. My husband loves playing with the words...and seeing how long it takes me to notice his latest movements (he also plays Words With Friends for an hour each day). 
In  Max's Castle by Kate Banks, Max pulls alphabet blocks from under his bed, trying to create excitement from his older brothers. They are the ones, should you have read Max's Words and Max's Dragon, who are never very willing to share, yet they always find Max's word discoveries interesting. In this latest installment, Max builds a castle with rooms for each brother (featuring the things each loves) and continues to tell a story using his blocks to spell out the characters, places, and activities. When things get tenuous or just need to be changed up a bit, Max moves around the blocks. The PIRATES become RAT PIES, for example. It is ingeniously organized and boldly illustrated by Boris Kulikov.  A perfect gift for one who loves word play or those who need inspiration in that area.

3 comments:

  1. happy holidays to all the leon-s out there, may they never be a-lone on noel.

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  2. Growing up I loved reading the "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood. In one, Betsy and her mother bake a dozen cupcakes for a New Year's party and decorate each with a letter to spell: HAPPY NEW YEAR. Unaware of the message, or that the cupcakes are for a party, Betsy's father and a younger sibling eat two of the cupcakes. The mistake is discovered just as the guests are about to arrive. The solution: Betsy rearranges the remaining cupcakes to spell: HAPPY WE ARE.

    And may we all have many reasons to be happy in the new year!

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  3. Very creative, Brattcat! I know my husband will appreciate your comment!

    Thanks for sharing that story from Carolyn Haywood, David. I love Betsy's resourcefulness!

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