Tag: The Hippopotamus Thesaurus: A Hefty Menagerie of Delectable Words

Review: The Hippopotamus Thesaurus: A Hefty Menagerie of Delectable Words, Volume 1 by Samuel Jennings Vinson

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

This feast of storytelling, vocabulary, poetry, and prose allows children ages 6 and up to embark on a fantastic adventure through whimsical contextual definitions of extraordinary words. Unlike other children’s vocabulary books, The Hippopotamus Thesaurus is presented with the implicit trust that children have the ability to not only understand, but thoroughly enjoy complex language and ideas. At 102 pages, with over 100 hand-drawn, watercolor illustrations, this book is a labor of love aligned to one goal: to foster the curiosity and brilliance of young minds.
Volume 1 of The Hippopotamus Thesaurus encourages children to dig into the richness of the English language while being impossibly fun to read, and impossible to explore without learning. Hidden riddles, an in-depth glossary, and loveable watercolor characters are all part of the first installment of The Hippopotamus Thesaurus, ready to be enjoyed down to the last morsel by early readers, parents, and educators alike.
Furthermore, a full glossary at the back of the book provides an opportunity for readers to deepen their understanding by learning the dictionary definitions, classifications and etymologies of the featured words. This additional resource encourages curiosity and fosters a love of language exploration.
With educational application in mind, the author has also provided an accompanying Educator’s Resource with small modules that can be easily woven into any K-12 curriculum.
Embark on an enchanting journey filled with delightful tales that spark the imagination. Let your mind wander through playful words, whimsical tales, and hidden riddles, all waiting to be discovered.
Explore the wonders of language in a most delightful way, where words come to life in the most unexpected manner. Join us in this literary adventure!

Favorite Lines:

Rather than picking favorite lines, I thought it would make more sense to flag some of my favorite words and their corresponding passages. These included Flibbertigibbet (which I didn’t even know was a real word), Dollop, and Paraprosdokian.  

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I received the review request for this book, I wasn’t too sure at first as it came off as more of a children’s book and is not something I would typically review. However, I found my self curious and gave it a shot which led to thorough entertainment and education on several words that I have never heard of before.

This thesaurus is written and illustrated by Vinson and really took me down memory lane with a mixture of Seussical and Carle vibes. This book uses poetry to provide context to complicated and unique words with illustrations to match. There are also riddles and puzzles throughout to keep readers engaged throughout.

I really appreciated the glossary of definitions at the end because even I didn’t know what some of the words meant and while the poetry provided context and was a creative way to illustrate their meanings, I think the definitions added additional value when re-reading each passage.

Bonus points for the cute childhood picture at the end!

Summary:

Overall, it has been a looooooooooong time since I have read a children’s book but I thought this was a very cute and creative way to educate early and middle readers while keeping them engaged with the bonus additions of illustrations, humor, puzzles, and riddles. I would recommend to anyone with a younger child that is interested in expanding their vocabulary in a fun way! Happy reading!

Check out The Hippopotamus Thesaurus: A Hefty Menagerie of Delectable Words, Volume 1 here!