I received an electronic copy from Kids Can Press through NetGalley.
Terrific concept for building vocabulary. "Big words" are used in each vignette. Even better, one of the characters lets the reader know they're coming. A pronunciation guide is provided. Before the definition is given, readers have a chance to use context clues to figure out the word's meaning.
Elementary level readers will enjoy the humor while traveling on a giant dustball. The characters are appealing and the plots draw readers in.
The book ends with a play on words where all of the big words are used in a scene so readers get one more opportunity to see how they're used.

To be posted on GoodReads Apr 2:

Davey sweeps up a huge dust ball that he and his dog Abigail inadvertently discover can float and take them places. They travel to outer space, Italy, Hawaii, and Switzerland in the small adventures in this book and during each one they learn one new big word.

What a fantastic little graphic novel for beginning readers that provides fun and imaginative adventures and teaches vocabulary kids may not otherwise come across in their reading. I like that there’s a signal before each big word shows up, a pronunciation guide, and then at the end of each short story the new word introduced is defined. (This gives readers time to practice figuring out meaning using context clues first.) At the end of the book a short skit is put on by the characters that uses all the new big words. The illustrations are simple but in an appealing cartoon style the target age should really enjoy. I need to hunt down this book and the rest of the series for our Elementary library. Highly recommended for beginning readers who like imaginative tales, graphic novels, or want to expand their vocabulary.

<i>I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This is a super cute series of books that allow the reader to learn new vocabulary while in context of a story. The story shows the word early on (in a funny way) and then through what the character experiences, the reader can see the word in action. The illustrations are simple and crisp. The story surrounding the word has humor and is not challenging. This would be a great text for any classroom grades 1-3.

This is brilliant! A great way to encourage an excitement at the 'big words' instead of dread and wanting to give up. It is so fun! I know lots of children who would love this!

As it is a collection of short stories, you are not overwhelmed by too many new, big words to remember the meaning of. Each story has 1 big word introduced, phonetically spelled near it & defined.

The Sprinkle Fairies are on the page before the big word (which is written in a different font) so children can anticipate that it is coming up & get excited. I'd use this with children from age 5-8 years old.

It is true that you learn something new every day...this marvelous collection of short stories by Judith Henderson taught me the word "collywobbles". In all my life, I have never heard that word, so thank you!

All of the stories involve Davey and his dog, Abigail (who I think is Garfield in disguise). Everyone knows that the Sprinkle Fairy lives in Sicily and loves to sprinkle big words into conversations and writing. With some help from a magic dust bunny, Davey and Abigail travel all over the world and discover big words left there by the Sprinkle Fairy.

The giant dust bunny was irksome to Abigail at first, but she enjoyed their trips by the end. In Italy, the dust bunny caused quite a brouhaha that was obviously solved with spaghetti and meatballs. Then they enjoyed a day of lollygagging in Hawaii until Abigail got a case of the collywobbles (upset stomach), so Davey went to China for some cloud tea. When Abigail was feeling better, they helped create a new phenomenon in Switzerland involving chocolate and stinky cheese.

Henderson finishes the collection with a play put on by the Sprinklers (the Sprinkle Fairy's helpers). McBeth's illustrations are perfect complements to the story and make the words come alive. My personal favorite story was Stinky Cheese because it promotes trying new things and not judging on first impressions.

Thank you NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to review an advance reader copy.

This is such a delightful series. I love that this series of books, this is the second one, has vocabulary words that most kids, and many adults wouldn't use in a million years. But so what, that is the beauty of the English language, that it has so many cool words out there, and who is to say what is a good word for kids, if it is discriptive enough.

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Why not teach a kid words like Irksome, Phenomenon and Brouhaha.

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I, for one, look forwards to words such as collywobbles, coming back into general use.

Highly recommended for the pictures, the silly stories, and the awesomely clever choice of vocabulary.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest reveiw.

I had to doubt the necessity of introducing words of multiple syllables into a young vocabulary last time I met with this series, and I still feel the same here. Is "irksome" really a word to learn as a priority? Yes, an adventure involving the world's most dramatic ball of fluff may be a fine way to go about things, but I'd be "lollygagging" if I didn't say I doubt the efficacy of the edutainment on offer here. As far as things go, this series is one of those 'word of the day' loo rolls or calendars or whatnots. It certainly might inspire a liking for unusual words, but these specific examples? I still don't think that would be the case.