Every Word Tells a Story - Tom Read Wilson

Author: Tom Read Wilson

Illustrator: Ian Morris

Genre: Children's Nonfiction, Language.

Rating: 4.5 stars. (Would have been a five-star read if it had had better illustrations.)

In a Nutshell: The almost-perfect gift for every little (and not-so-little) logophile. Loved it!

👉 What’s common to a ‘chameleon’ and a ‘dandelion’, at least etymologically?

👉 Why is ‘canapé’ derived from the French word for ‘sofa’?

👉 What’s the link between ‘karaoke’ and ‘karate’ other than the fact that they are both Japanese in origin?

👉 Which is the only fantastical creature that has its origins in architecture?

If any of these questions piques your curiosity, this book is the right fit for you.

As the author declares in his introductory note, words have personalities. Some are friendly, some scary, some awe-inducing. This amazing book takes us on a journey through some of the mind-blowing words in the English language. Rather than making it a boring dictionary-style exposition, the content focusses on the etymological origins of these words, adding details about the root and its meaning in the original language. It also contains some fascinating facts and funny tales about some word origins.

Before the book sets off on its alphabetical journey, there is a guide on how to use the book. There is also a glossary of special terms uses by logophiles such as onomatopoeia (one of my favourite words), portmanteau and eponym.

(On an aside: I truly appreciate the fact that the glossary is right at the start rather than at the end. It is so easy to miss out on glossaries in digital books if they are after the main content.)

There are four words taken from each letter of the English alphabet. One of these words is highlighted in detail with a poem that specifies its meaning and etymological source, with additional informative titbits in text boxes. The remaining three words get a briefer page space but are still explained well.

I have always loved words, so to me, this book was a treat. While a fair amount of the content was familiar to me, I still learnt plenty of new stuff. (I never knew the word ‘fart’ has a Sanskrit origin! And while I did know the meaning & origin of the word ‘guru’, I never knew that it originally meant ‘weighty’ or ‘grave’!)

Even if I weren’t a word aficionado, I am sure I would have loved this book. I admire how the content didn’t let the factual details pull the momentum down but kept the proceedings informative as well as entertaining. There are plenty of humorous remarks to keep kids interested, and there are even pop culture references to make the meanings simpler.

The illustrations are okay, not great. To be honest, the textual content engrossed me so much that I forgot to look at the sketches most of the times. But when I did see them, they were not eye-popping. Moreover, some of them were awkward. Like the illustration for ‘ventriloquist’ has a boy sitting on the lap of a dummy instead of the other way around – was that deliberate. The worst was the illustration accompanying ‘guillotine’ – why was it so graphic!??!

Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with the content. This will be a great resource for any word lover, whether at home or school. The book is meant for readers aged 8-12 years, but it will offer loads of fun even to older linguaphiles.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the DRC of “Every Word Tells a Story: An extraordinary A to Z of etymological exploration”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.