Children's Writer's Word Book

Alijandra Mogilner

7/4/2008

Review by Molly

Divided into sections entitled "Introduction", "Alphabetical List", "Graded Word List", "Thesaurus", "Some things you’ll need to know", and a bibliography, the 355 page Children's Writer's Word Book is a resource for writers, parents and teachers. 

The introduction is packed with helpful information and should not be passed by without being read. Author Mogilner, who has been writing and publishing narrative for children since 1982, presents information concerning how and when children accomplish particular language skills in addition to modifications children may experience in the process.

Children's Writer's Word Book is a tome of words which the writer has determined to be the words many children will recognize and be able to use with fluency to read books independently. Mogilner who teaches at the University of California, San Diego provides both an alphabetical listing of all words in the book, in addition to Grade level Lists.

A two page spread – "Introduction To The Graded Lists" - prefaces each Grade Level list.  Incorporated in the Grade Level Introduction is a concise note of Social Changes to be expected by children of a particular age, along with a paragraph or two on the subject of what the classroom day curriculum pertaining to children of a particular age will consist of.  There is a paragraph or two relating to particulars of vocabulary maturity expected for children of a specific reading level, as well as what type of writing prowess can be anticipated coming from children of a specific point of maturation.

Children's Writer's Word Book is a resource providing writers, as well as class room teacher’s with a fundamental set of words children will likely be on familiar terms with when they have completed a particular grade in school. 

Potential authors of children’s pleasure reading books have long realized that children’s listening vocabulary is more highly developed than actual reading vocabulary.  Consequently children’s books can be targeted to a fairly wide range of youngsters.  The read-to group is made up of the youngest children, the read-with-help are the children in the particular grade from which most of the vocabulary used in the book have been chosen.  The read alone group are the  youngsters who have completed that grade from which most of the words appear and feel very comfortable with the word list of the grades preceding the one they are now studying.

Vocabulary lists for K-1 are predictably less precise than lists for older kids because Grades k-1 is the time when children are actually learning the fundamentals of reading.  Decoding words, figuring out what they mean, and the like is the focus of instruction for the five -  six year old set.  Reading vocabulary for the K – 1 group is going to be more limited for children in this group than is their listening vocabulary. 

As a supplementary assist for authors who may be new to writing for children, Writer Mogilner discusses specifics of word count in stories, in addition to sentence length by grade level.

The word lists found in the book involve less than ½ the volume, the Thesaurus is a good bit larger and presents writers and teachers with an outstanding set of words which children can use to help jazz up their journal and other writing.

More than only groups of words, Children's Writer's Word Book gives aspiring children’s writers and teachers an idea regarding what publishers are looking for and why. This is knowledge which can be used to advantage by writers and by the persons choosing books for the classroom or school library.

I bought my copy of the book at Barnes and Noble, it is also available online on several sites.

Children's Writer's Word Book gives specific examples of writing by grade level and sets down in plain language how to introduce new words and even foreign words into text along with providing specifics of different types of children’s writing. Children's Writer's Word Book can be a handy resource for writers, classroom teachers and home-school teachers alike. 

I use this book and recommend it for aspiring writers, teachers and parents.

You can find this book at as well as many other sources..