Absurd Words: A kids' fun and hilarious vocabulary builder and back to school gift

This is one of my family’s favorite books. And it’s NOT JUST FOR KIDS! Absurd Words has sparked many an impromptu discussion between both adults and kids in my world. I have both a digital and hard copy, it’s that essential to me. I even got my tattered copy of Absurd Words signed & addressed to my folks (huge fans!) while I was at the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival and got to see Tara’s smiling face in person.In the last 2 years, I’ve shared many a word from Absurd Words; the most used so far being ZARF. Try asking your Barista at the coffee shop for a Zarf for your cup. LOTS of fun. It’s that paper thingy that goes around the hot cup so you don’t burn your fingers. Originally, it was made of metal & wrapped around glass, courtesy of England. I only know that because of the fabulous sidebars that have “Did You Know?” info about a word, including history & slang. Makes the book, i.m.o.! One Barista loved the word so much, she made it the word of the week on the “Guess the Word” sign. I left her the book name & author name, in case she or anyone else wanted more words.My parents’ favorite part of the book is all the Yiddish words. They can talk for an hour with their friends about these words, and we have! I passed their request on to Tara for a dedicated Absurd Words: The Yiddish Edition. Word is, even Tara’s M-I-L says this book isn’t just for kids & would also like more Yiddish words.If you are looking for a fun, interesting book and you are a word nerd or just enjoy learning new words, this is the book you NEED. And it's also GREAT for making conversation when you are with that person who is introverted or you don't know them yet very well. I have gotten people involved & even reminiscing because of ABSURD WORDS. That's why you also need the on-the-go Digital Version.Enjoy reading it, and please know this review was written by a fan-girl of both Tara and vocabulary, and is NOT, I repeat NOT Hyperbole.......<------- Another great word in the book. :)

Loved this book! It’s a fun collection of unfamiliar, but very fun to say words, organized in fun categories instead of a straight A-Z kind of thing. Along the way there are little facts and tidbits about the words, so students are learning a bit of etymology without even realizing it. Word-lovers will love it, and everyone can enjoy learning the unusual words like Pettifogger and Spaghettification. And this is the fun kind of book you can skip around in according to your interest in the moment. There is a table of contents at the front to guide you, AND an index at the back to help you find those fascinating words even easier. And to add to the fun content, there are fun illustrations sprinkled in, with page design that makes it easy to digest and enjoy all the information between the covers. Just so well-designed.

If you want your kids to get interested in expanding their vocabulary, Absurd Words by Tara Lazar is the perfect book for you. The vocabulary words are divided by Word Squads like Hey, Sherlock!, Fantastic Beasts, Stay in Character, Stretching the Truth, Nom Nom Nom, and There's a Word for That! It is simply entertaining and will keep the kids engaged in learning new, exciting words. Hoodoo, willowwacks, cahoots, hijinks, masquerade, candelabra, hocus-pocus, kaput, ricochet, dillydally, sashay, shenanigans, wisecrack, and whatchamacallit are among my favorite words. It also includes a section called Crashwords, which teaches how to come up with new words and an index.

I love this book! My students really enjoy the absurdness of the vocabulary words from their morning work, and learning about the roots or cultural significance of the word.

My 8 year old grandson loves to read. He’s been so busy with cousins playing during Holiday I only saw him with it when he opened it, but he spent several minutes reading things out loud- unusual words, meaning, pronunciation, and how to use in sentence. He was very interested in the book.

Don't believe that this book is just for 8-12-year-olds, though any kid who likes to laugh and has a bit of curiosity (that is, any kid) would love this book. I am way over 12, and I learn new words every time I flip through it. I also love the blurbs on word roots, and the anecdotes sprinkled throughout. It even has an index.Tara Lazar is a verbomaniac (p132), and you will be too if you read this book.

Want to make your writing sparkle? Looking for a way to take your storytelling to the next level? This colorful, enchanting book reminds us that using absurd words like jabberwocky, pandemonium and lackadaisical will make your story fly off the page. Recommended for all age groups, especially writers and teachers. It's a real humdinger of a book!

I bought this as a birthday present for my son, and we have really enjoyed reading it together. The book takes you on a delightful romp through a plethora of words that tickle your tongue and dance in your mouth. Our vocabulary has now exploded with a hullabaloo of activity. Thank you Tara Lazar for writing the ultimate word nerd book.

Absurd Words is a plethora of knowledge, a modern twist to words fun to say but seldom heard. It would make a great gift for any word nerd, and/or classroom.

My 8 year old loves reading this one

Really cute book. My kid likes to learn funny words, so he likes it.