Wordplay

Making books that appeal to young children can be tough, especially striking a balance between being engaging and educational. This graphic novel, Wordplay, accomplishes that feat in fine manner. When I got it, I read it to my two boys (ages 2 and 4), and not only did they sit through the entire thing they asked me to read it again, which is a huge compliment. That night, my 2-year-old pulled it out for his bedtime book and after I finished he said, "Again!"

A big part of what makes this book so appealing is its playful illustrations. The plot involves a teacher presenting a lesson about compound words, and the protagonist Annemarie starts imaging them all in literal terms, which are depicted in detail. It is silly to see houses doing work (for homework) and even other ones vacuuming (for housework), but those are just the beginning.

There were a couple of words that I felt had some limited use today (like milkmaid), but some of the choices are inspired and hilarious. Just check out the cool drawing of a handyman:

In all, I think this book is a great way to both engage and entertain young readers while also teaching them some specifics about the English language. It certainly demonstrates what compound words are and provides multiple examples of them as well. This would be an excellent book for preschool, kindergarten, or first grade.

This book's creator Ivan Brunetti is an artist and educator who has been working in comics for a few decades. He is currently an associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, and he has done multiple covers for The New Yorker. He has created all kinds of solo work, including lots of independent comics and lately a growing number of titles for younger readers, like 3X4 and Comics: Easy As ABC. He speaks about his work on Wordplay in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review that called it "Praiseworthy!" J. Caleb Mozzocco wrote that "it’s hard to imagine a better candidate for explaining compound words." Publishers Weekly concluded, "Brunetti buoyantly conveys the joy of diving into newly acquired knowledge and the idea that learning and play aren’t mutually exclusive."

Wordplay was published by TOON Books, and they offer a preview and more here.