Download or read book Word Nerd written by Barbara Ann Kipfer and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2007 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Word Nerd is a rich-and fun-compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words.

Download or read book Word Nerd written by Susin Nielsen and published by Random House. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ambrose Bukowski is a twelve-year-old with a talent for mismatching his clothes, for saying the wrong thing at the worst possible time, and for words. In short, he’s a self-described nerd. Making friends is especially hard because he and his overprotective mother, Irene, have had to move so often. And when bullies at his latest school almost kill him by deliberately slipping a peanut into his sandwich to set off his allergy, it's his mother who has the extreme reaction. From now on, Ambrose has to be home-schooled. Then Ambrose strikes up an unlikely friendship with the landlord's son, Cosmo, an ex-con who's been in prison. They have nothing in common except for Scrabble. But a small deception grows out of control when Ambrose convinces a reluctant Cosmo to take him to a Scrabble club. Could this spell disaster for Ambrose?

Download or read book Brain Games for Word Nerds written by Francis Heaney and published by Puzzlewright. This book was released on 2011-12-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection is sure to satisfy passionate puzzleheads-those word nerds hungry for a new challenge. It features new brain games constructed just for this book, including “Mix-Ins” (anagrams with a novel twist) and “Half and Half” puzzles that involve tricky word-breaking and reassembling.

Download or read book The Book of Word Games written by David Parlett and published by Echo Point Books & Media. This book was released on 2012-05 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you were to imagine your ideal guide to a book of word games, who would you picture? Does an urbane, witty writer come to mind? How about a widely recognized authority and historian of games? Perhaps you'd want someone who successfully creates games himself and has written extensively on a wide variety of games? And oh what the heck let's make him British to add a bit of extra charm. Well, if that sounds like the ideal game guide, look no further. David Parlett is an internationally recognized master of games. The author of many books, including the Oxford History of Board Games and The Penguin Book of Card Games, he has also created many games including Hare & Tortoise, which has sold over 3 million copies. In "The Book of Word Games" Parlett presents a practical and entertaining guide to word games and how to play them. He offers clear and witty introductions to over 150 word games, indicating degree of difficulty, appropriate number of players, and age range (many of the games are great for the classroom or to give your kids some fun while improving their language skills). Parlett also gives a wealth of interesting etymological knowledge, including word origins, phonetic facts and interesting tidbits like the longest word in the English language. There is something for everyone, from new readers to sophisticated word connoisseurs. From well-known favorites such as Boggle and Consequences to lesser-known but equally enjoyable games such as Bacronyms and Aesop's Mission, "The Book of Word Games" presents a wide-ranging collection of word games for verbivores of all ages. "

Download or read book Confessions of a High School Word Nerd written by Arianne Cohen and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-01-02 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Effortlessly acquire an SAT vocabulary through hilarious high school essays Every year, 9 million American students expend large amounts of time and energy preparing for proficiency and entrance exams like the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and SSAT with a heap of vocabulary flash cards and a fat volume of repetitive practice tests. Each one of them, along with their parents and teachers, wishes that there was a less painful way to prepare for test day. There is, and this book is the solution: a collection of ten well-written, entertaining essays by recent college-graduates-turned-writers that honestly and amusingly recount wild, traumatizing, and hilarious high-school events, using common SAT words as a study tool. (*gluteus: any of the large muscles of the buttocks; esp: gluteus maximus)

Download or read book Absurd Words written by Tara Lazar and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-01-02 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why use boring old words when you can expand and build your vocabulary—and have fun doing it! A user-friendly, engaging book about the power of words—perfect for educators, parents, and future word nerds. Build confidence and become a stronger reader, writer, and communicator! This fun and hilarious vocabulary builder: Includes over 750 high-level, wondrous, and wacky words! With sample sentences and word history that help new words make sense! Bright and fun illustrations make learning new words fun! Allows to search by category so new word choices are easy to find! Kids with strong vocabularies are better readers, better writers, and even feel more confident tackling math and science. When a kid wants to learn a new word, we often send them to the dictionary or a thesaurus. But dictionaries only work if you know exactly the word you want. This dictionary-thesaurus hybrid is organized by theme and puts words in context with fun, engaging and hilarious sentences, pictures, and fun facts. You'll learn what words mean and then actually use them!

Download or read book Word Nerds written by Brenda L. Overturf and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-10-10 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Word mastery comes from intimate knowledge of language. In Word Nerds : Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary, authors Leslie Montgomery and Margot Holmes Smith take you inside classrooms where they implement creative, flexible vocabulary instruction that improves their students' word knowledge and confidence. With support from literacy specialist Brenda Overturf, the authors developed a five-part plan to teach all students to learn vocabulary: Introducing new words in contextAdding related synonyms and antonymsEngaging in several days of active learningCelebrating new wordsAssessing vocabulary developmentThis easy-to-read reference explains how to plan, teach, and assess based on the latest research in vocabulary instruction and learning. After incorporating the authors' plan, you can be a Word Nerd too!

Download or read book Word Freak written by Stefan Fatsis and published by HMH. This book was released on 2001-07-07 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “marvelously absorbing” book is “a walk on the wild side of words and ventures into the zone where language and mathematics intersect” (San Jose Mercury News). A former Wall Street Journal reporter and NPR regular, Stefan Fatsis recounts his remarkable rise through the ranks of elite Scrabble players while exploring the game’s strange, potent hold over them—and him. At least thirty million American homes have a Scrabble set—but the game’s most talented competitors inhabit a sphere far removed from the masses of “living room players.” Theirs is a surprisingly diverse subculture whose stars include a vitamin-popping standup comic; a former bank teller whose intestinal troubles earned him the nickname “G.I. Joel”; a burly, unemployed African American from Baltimore’s inner city; the three-time national champion who plays according to Zen principles; and the author himself, who over the course of the book is transformed from a curious reporter to a confirmed Scrabble nut. Fatsis begins by haunting the gritty corner of a Greenwich Village park where pickup Scrabble games can be found whenever weather permits. His curiosity soon morphs into compulsion, as he sets about memorizing thousands of obscure words and fills his evenings with solo Scrabble played on his living room floor. Before long he finds himself at tournaments, socializing—and competing—with Scrabble’s elite. But this book is about more than hardcore Scrabblers, for the game yields insights into realms as disparate as linguistics, psychology, and mathematics. Word Freak extends its reach even farther, pondering the light Scrabble throws on such notions as brilliance, memory, competition, failure, and hope. It is a geography of obsession that celebrates the uncanny powers locked in all of us, “a can’t-put-it-down narrative that dances between memoir and reportage” (Los Angeles Times). “Funny, thoughtful, character-rich, unchallengeably winning writing.” —The Atlantic Monthly This edition includes a new afterword by the author.

Download or read book Beneath written by Roland Smith and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2015-01-27 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roland Smith, the master of middle-grade adventure, returns with a new novel full of high-speed chases, secret identities, and a dangerous underground world. What waits Beneath?Pat O'Toole has always idolized his older brother, Coop. He's even helped Coop with some of his crazier plans -- such as risking his life to help his big brother dig a tunnel underneath their neighborhood in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Coop is . . . different. He doesn't talk on the phone, doesn't use email, and doesn't have friends. He's never really cared for anything but the thrill of being underground and Pat. So it's no surprise to anyone -- even Pat -- that after a huge fight with their parents, Coop runs away. Exactly one year later, Pat receives a package containing a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother. He follows the clues to New York City, and soon discovers that Coop has joined the Community, a self-sufficient society living beneath the streets. Now it's up to Pat to find his brother -- and bring him home.

Download or read book American Bee written by James Maguire and published by Rodale. This book was released on 2006 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A narrative portrait of the America's national spelling bee competition offers insight into its subculture of young wordsmiths, competitive parents, and spectator tension, sharing the stories of five top contestants to offer insight into their ambitions and winning strategies. 40,000 first printing.

Download or read book Last Shot Mystery at the Final Four The Sports Beat 1 written by John Feinstein and published by Yearling. This book was released on 2006-06-27 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the real “March Madness”—behind the scenes at the Final Four basketball tournament. When Stevie wins a writing contest for aspiring sports journalists, his prize is a press pass to the Final Four in New Orleans. While exploring the Superdome, he overhears a plot to throw the championship game. With the help of fellow contest winner Susan Carol, Stevie has just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of the star players . . . and why. John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel. “A page-turning thriller and a basketball junkie’s bonanza.” —USA Today

Download or read book American Nerd written by Benjamin Nugent and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-05-13 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people know a nerd when they see one but can't define just what a nerd is. American Nerd: The Story of My People gives us the history of the concept of nerdiness and of the subcultures we consider nerdy. What makes Dr. Frankenstein the archetypal nerd? Where did the modern jock come from? When and how did being a self-described nerd become trendy? As the nerd emerged, vaguely formed, in the nineteenth century, and popped up again and again in college humor journals and sketch comedy, our culture obsessed over the designation. Mixing research and reportage with autobiography, critically acclaimed writer Benjamin Nugent embarks on a fact-finding mission of the most entertaining variety. He seeks the best definition of nerd and illuminates the common ground between nerd subcultures that might seem unrelated: high-school debate team kids and ham radio enthusiasts, medieval reenactors and pro-circuit Halo players. Why do the same people who like to work with computers also enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons? How are those activities similar? This clever, enlightening book will appeal to the nerd (and antinerd) that lives inside all of us.

Download or read book Dragon Hoops written by Gene Luen Yang and published by First Second. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his latest graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches. Gene understands stories—comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’s lives, but his own life as well.

Download or read book Nerd Camp written by Elissa Brent Weissman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-05-22 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For ten-year-old Gabe, the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment is all that he dreamed it would be, but he must work hard to write about the fun in letters to Zach, his cool future stepbrother, without revealing that it is a camp for "nerds."

Download or read book Sophie Someone written by Hayley Long and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if you found out your life has been threaded with secrets — ones that rocked you to your core? An affecting page-turner written in a brave, memorable language all its own. Some words are hard to get out of your mouth. Because they spell out secrets that are too huge to be spoken out loud. But if you bottle them up, you might burst. So here's my story. Told the only way I dare tell it. Sophie Nieuwenleven is sort of English and sort of Belgian. She and her family came to live in Belgium when she was only four or five, but she's fourteen now and has never been sure why they left England in the first place. She loves her international school, adores her friend Comet, and is protective of her little brother, Hercule. But it’s hard to feel carefree when her mom never leaves the apartment — ordering groceries online and blasting music in her room — and her dad has a dead-end job as a car mechanic. Then one day Sophie makes a startling discovery, a discovery that unlocks the mystery of who she really is. This is a novel about identity and confusion and about feeling so utterly freaked out that you can't put it into words. But it's also about hope. And trust. And the belief that, somehow, everything will be OK. Sophie Someone is a tale of good intentions, bad choices, and betrayal — and ultimately, a compelling story of forgiveness.

Download or read book The Puzzler written by A.J. Jacobs and published by Crown. This book was released on 2022-04-26 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.

Download or read book Is That a Word written by David Bukszpan and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scrabble® aficionados may know that both "Brr" and "Brrr" are legitimate plays, but what about everyday names like Peter, Carl, and Marge? They're not listed as proper nouns, but they are certainly playable. For lovers of Scrabble®, Bananagrams®, and Words with Friends®, this lively guide helps readers make the most out of word games, packed with new ways to remember the best words alongside tips for improving game play and much more. Part strategy guide and part celebration of all things wordy, this collection of facts, tips, and surprising lists of playable words will instruct and delight the letterati.