The Word Wizard’s Book of Nouns. (Word Wizard). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015. 24 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1308-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1290-9 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7760-5 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7756-8 (html). Subject Headings: English language-Noun-Juvenile literature. English language-Parts of speech-Juvenile literature. English language-Grammar-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 /Ages 5-8. Review by Kristen Ferguson. **˝ /4
	The Word Wizard’s Book of Verbs. (Word Wizard). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015. 24 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1310-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1292-3 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7761-2 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7757-5 (html). Subject Headings: English language-Verb-Juvenile literature. English language-Parts of speech-Juvenile literature. English language-Grammar-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 /Ages 5-8. Review by Kristen Ferguson. **˝ /4
	The Word Wizard’s Book of Adjectives. (Word Wizard). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015. 24 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1312-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1304-3 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7762-9 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7758-2 (html). Subject Headings: English language-Adjective-Juvenile literature. English language-Parts of speech-Juvenile literature. English language-Grammar-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 /Ages 5-8. Review by Kristen Ferguson. **˝ /4
	The Word Wizard’s Book of Adverbs. (Word Wizard). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015. 24 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1314-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1306-7 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7763-6 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7759-9 (html). Subject Headings: English language-Adverb-Juvenile literature. English language-Parts of speech-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 /Ages 5-8. Review by Kristen Ferguson. **˝ /4

excerpt:

You do not need magic to make plurals! You just need to add the letter “s.” It goes at the end of nouns. Then singular nouns become plural nouns. One cake turns into many cakes. A pie becomes pies. It is as easy as pie! (From The Word Wizard of Nouns.)

The "Word Wizard” series, by Robin Johnson, introduces young readers to different parts of speech. The layout is engaging, with each book in the series presented in full colour, with eye-catching photos and illustrations as well as text bubbles and boxes. The "Word Wizard” books teach the reader about the functions and use of the parts of speech and also contain activities to check understanding. Each book ends with summative activities to explore the part of speech (writing stories, drawing a picture then writing an explanation, etc.). There is also a section entitled “Learning More” which has links to books and websites related to that specific part of speech. On the last page of each book, there is also a glossary and index of key words in the book.

      The Word Wizard’s Book of Nouns explains and gives examples of common nouns, collective nouns, pronouns, possessive nouns, and singular and plural nouns. This book also has a section explaining sentences and states, “Every sentence has at least one noun.” I feel this is an oversimplification of grammar because imperative sentences do not have stated nouns or pronouns, but, rather, they are implied.

      Verbs are explored in The Word Wizard’s Book of Verbs. Verb tenses, irregular verbs, antonyms, synonyms, and shades of meaning are some topics explored in the book. I am disappointed that Johnson picked the oversimplified definition of “Verbs are action words.” Verbs are also states of being, and I cannot count how many of my students with undergraduate degrees define verbs the same way and have no idea that “is” is a verb in a sentence. The author does explain “Other verbs describe actions we cannot see . . . the words “like” and “learn” are verbs. You cannot see them. They still describe the wizard’s action.” But “state of being verbs” need their own section in this book, complete with examples (particularly from the verb “to be”). Along the same lines, a section on “helper verbs” or “linking verbs” should also be added.

      The Word Wizard’s Book of Adjectives contains sections explaining what are adjectives, comparative adjectives, antonyms, and synonyms. Readers can also learn about the shades of meaning of different adjectives by sorting adjectives into the categories of weaker words, stronger words, and strongest words.

      “Adverbs are words that describe verbs” is Johnson’s definition in The Word Wizard’s Book of Adverbs. Again, the definition is oversimplified because adverbs can also modify other adverbs and adjectives. The book contains sections about adverbs telling when and where, comparative adverbs, and changing adjectives to adverbs.

      While the "Word Wizard” series is full of information and the books are visually beautiful, I am not sure if children ages 5 to 8 or their parents would be intrinsically motivated to read books about the parts of speech. Their use in the classroom is also puzzling since I am not sure how this series would be used as they would not be well-suited for a read-aloud or independent reading. I feel like the publisher has missed the mark with the format of this series. These books would be ideal for shared reading but are not available in a big book format or as a series of slides for the Smartbaord or data projector. Homeschoolers, however, might find the format of the book series useful. I also find the oversimplification of some of the grammar to be problematic. While I understand the issue of age appropriateness, I feel like these topics could still be included in a way that could be understood by young readers.

Recommended with Reservations.

Dr. Kristen Ferguson teaches literacy education at the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University in North Bay, ON.

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