Both star a young character intrigued by the flexibility and confounding nature of the English language.
In the former, Bob hurtles through the book trying out the sounds of alluring words like rambunctious, and pondering why abbreviation is such a long word whereas big is so little.
His favourite words and phrases though are palindromes, and he litters the book with his discoveries.
He collaborates with Miss Take to examine how punctuation can save lives as, she says, ''Let's eat, Grandma!'' could carelessly be ''Let's eat Grandma!''.
This is reminiscent of the adult non-fiction work Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
The visual and written presentation of these books is great, and children will love the upbeat, humorous tone.
These books make learning about language fun. In addition to the clear language are useful glossaries.
Accessible and highly recommended.
Ages 5-10.
• Jessie Neilson is a University of Otago library assistant and mother.
