Antonyms, Synonyms & Homonyms - Hardcover

Rayevsky, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823418898 ISBN 13: 9780823418893

Publisher: Holiday House, 2006

Synopsis

When an alien drops out of the sky, his welcoming hosts take their time explaining what homonyms, synonyms, and antonyms are in creative and clever ways in order to clarify what they are trying to tell him, in an amusing learning tool with full-color illustrations.

About this title

About the Authors

Kim Rayevsky is a graphic designer who works with her husband, Robert, and also designs and builds websites. She and her family live in New York State.

Robert Rayevsky, a native of Russia, is the popular illustrator of more than twenty books for children. They have garnered such honors as the Parents' Choice Award, the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and Blue Ribbon.

Robert Rayevsky lives in the beautiful countryside―far away from the skyscrapers, but close to many mosquitoes. His books include Under New York by Linda Oatman High and Pirate Pup by Caroline Stutson. Robert Rayevsky lives in Parksville, New York, with his wife, kids, cats, and a dachshund.

Reviews

Grade 2–5—An introduction to word relationships, illustrated with vibrant, mixed-media artwork. As the book opens, a large-eared, buck-toothed visitor lands on Earth. Each grammatical concept is then clearly defined and demonstrated by his antics as he explores the planet. For example, to clarify antonyms, the left-hand illustration shows him standing "high up" on a mountain, while the right side has him scuba diving "deep down" into the ocean. Three "Where's Waldo"-type spreads, which are packed with a colorful mishmash of collage images, invite readers to locate not only the alien, but also pertinent word pairings. Photo cutouts of a cat and a dog ("real animals") contrast with a delicate painting of a unicorn ("fantastic, mythological animal"); a pale pencil illustration (labeled with the synonyms "sketches, doodles, drawings") is set next to a bright watercolor picture of the alien enjoying a funny movie ("laugh, giggle, titter, chuckle"). Like the artwork, the variety of fonts used highlights the relationships between the words displayed. While the busy pages might overwhelm some youngsters, this book will find wide use in language-arts classrooms.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The wordplay with opposites, parallels, and puns is hilarious, and so is the art in this effective word book. Young children can start with the big, simple scenarios about an alien who lands on Earth and learns about people at home, on the streets, in the ocean, and elsewhere. A double-page spread shows the messy alien at the dinner table, grabbing the whole turkey by the drumstick, while the neat family members hold their forks in outrage. Older children will appreciate the packed (sometimes too-packed) spreads with all kinds of tiny mixed-media pictures and collages showing people, animals, objects, and situations both familiar and fantastic. First are antonyms (high up and deep down); then the synonyms (child, tot, newborn); finally, and probably the most entertaining, the homonyms (I sew my pants. I'm so happy). The jumble of sounds and sense can make language fun. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0823418898
• ISBN 13: 9780823418893
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32