Elbert's Bad Word

My Children love this story. The illustrations are delightful. We spend as much time looking at the pictures as we do actually reading the book. I wanted this for my own library because of the moral content and the topic.

This is such a cute story for explaining bad words. We love the setting of a stuffy cocktail party. The pictures are great!

This is one of my favorites. It is a lively, imaginative book that is fun to read aloud. I just read it today in fact to a group of second graders and they loved it so much they all clapped at the end. You will captivate your audience and have opportunities to discuss a wonderful alternative to profanity that is logical. As one other reviewer said, this book does lend itself well to a follow up discussion or activity where children can come up with their own strong words. While I don't always appreciate Audrey and Don Wood's illustrative style as as much as others might, it is fun to look through how very elaborate and imaginative they are. You will likely notice new details several times after the first time you read it due to this aspect of the illustrations.

My kids borrowed this book at the library and enjoyed it so much I am purchasing it. My four-year-old enjoys saying and creating his own expressive words - words that "sparkle and crackle." My two-year-old recognizes bad words and is learning acceptable replacements. He reads the book daily. They both tell everyone they meet about bad words. Again, the illustration of the bad word is excellent - much better than having used a word.Course I will never be able to wash out my kids' mouths because they now know that won't get rid of the word. Replacing it with more appropriate words is what they have learned from this book.

A bad word is overheard at a garden party. It's use by Elbert leads to abuse - are bar of soap in the mouth. The word is strong, it's still not gone. In fact it's growing stronger! Elbert seeks a wizard's aide - the gardener in a fantastical shed. A spell is made. Powerful words bearing social acceptance, enter Elbert's head. After a second painful mishap - the guests all waiting breathless - Elbert uses his new strong words and finds both relief and acceptance. The bad word is deflated and crawls away defeated. Not one bad word is used in the book. It is drawn as and angry tangle. The art work is fun. One can search for all the relevant party guests in each picture. The gardner's hut shows magical items is great detail. The sotry lends itself to inventing ones own powerful words.