"Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning...

"Peter Winceworth, a disaffected Victorian lexicographer, inserts false entries into a dictionary - violating and subverting the dictionary's authority - in an attempt to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom. In the present day, Mallory, a young overworked and underpaid intern employed by the dictionary's publishing house, is tasked with uncovering these entries before the work is digitised. As the novel progresses and their...

For the first time ever, this thrilling literary detective story, doubling as a celebration of words, language, people and one of mankind's greatest achievements, unravels the mystery of the contributors from around the world who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read, write and speak.

"No two pages look alike in this eye-popping children's encyclopedia. Exploring everything from amazing animals to art, this book is packed with fun facts for kids. With its unique visual approach, One Million Things! shows you a range of topics but presents them with a twist. Mingle with a bunch of snakes... on a ladder! Meet your mammal relatives in a photo album, or peek into a drawer full of prosthetic eyes to discover the science of genetics....

A one-volume encyclopedia covers a range of up-to-date topics through easily accessible text and photographs and includes more than nine thousand entries.

The perfect encyclopedia for any information-hungry kid who wants to boost their general knowledge, this pocket-sized book is packed full of facts. From earthquakes to Marco Polo, magnets to how the brain works, this fully updated 600-page book of knowledge covers just about every topic that a curious child will want to learn about. The perfect resource for school-aged children, this book will be a reference point for years' worth of homework, research,...

"The American Heritage® Children's Dictionary has been completely revised, updated, and redesigned for a brand-new edition, ensuring that this title remains fresh and current while providing the visual appeal needed to captivate young readers. For this brand-new edition, every definition has been reviewed, and hundreds of new senses and new words and definitionsranging from android to veganhave been added. This edition includes a brand-new feature,...

"A brilliant book that puts your general knowledge to the test: pick your subject, look at the pictures, and see if you can name them all. Children won't be able to resist the Knowledge Genius brain-busting challenge. For every topic, pages are packed with eye-popping pictures--but do you know what they show? To help you, "Name Game" panels list what you're looking for. With three levels of difficulty, the challenge gets harder as you work your way...

"Who said ordinariness is boring? This book shows ordinary things, along with their origins and inventors, in a new light. Come explore their secrets! They're all around us. We use them daily, pass them by, and it never occurs to us to stop and think about where they came from. What, you ask? The most ordinary things in the world, of course! Shoes, umbrellas, toothbrushes, toothpicks, socks, dolls, and so on and so forth. How did they come to be?...