This would be a fun storytime book for older kids. It would also work well as a more interesting, exciting, and interactive introduction to language arts lesson(s). ( )

The words of the Oxford dictionary get tired of staying inside their pages all day so they decided it was time for a break. The lines themselves up in a parade led by the self-centered single letter word "I". We get a glimpse at the dynamics of the lives of different kinds of words like action verbs, no-action contractions, antonyms, homophones and many more. All of the words are evading capture by the creator of their dictionary Noah Webster. Will he be able to bring all of his words back? ( )

When the words in the dictionary get bored one day, they escape from their proper places and hold a word parade. With the Onomatopoeia Marching Band leading the way, and that self-centered one-letter word (I) as marshal, the parade contains many fun categories of word, from antonyms to palindromes. Eventually Noah Webster manages to shepherd these unruly creatures back into the dictionary, only for Roget to notice other words escaping from his thesaurus...

An amusing and educational look at the various kinds of words, from parts of speech - contractions, conjunctions, interjections - to categories like anagrams and homophones, The Great Dictionary Caper pairs a fun, frenetic text from author Judy Sierra with entertaining artwork from illustrator Eric Comstock. There's even a glossary included at the rear, to explain various terms and archaic words used in the story. I'm not sure this would make a good story-time selection for a large audience, as there are so many words to be read on the page, in addition to the main narrative, but in a small group, I think it would be a hit. Recommended to anyone looking for a fun way to explain parts of speech and/or other word categories to young children. ( )