Words, brains, birds & trains

New non-fiction for kids stirs wonder for language, the human body, nature and the ways we get around.

- ANN PACKER

EVERY WORD TELLS A STORY by Tom Read Wilson (Words & Pictures, $28) This book is one to leave lying around. Kids will pick up this entertaining assemblage by celebrity word collector Tom Read Wilson for Ian Morris' Quentin Blake-like pictures - then read without stopping. Truly an "extraordinary A to Z of etymological exploration" from Aardvark to Zombie, it really pressed Amelie's buttons. Aged 9, and hooked on graphic novels, she loved Locust and Dandelion. Each letter starts with one double-spread - featuring a poem, fact boxes (Did you know? What's in a name?) and the all-important, but brief, definition/origin/meaning in the source language - followed by a trio of shorter entries.