Wally the Wordworm

By Clifton Fadiman

Book Overview

Help instill a love of words and language--and an early appreciation for their vast possibilities--with this read aloud for children.

A worm that lives on words, Wally finds himself starved for inspiration, until one day, he crawls into a magical book: the dictionary. What tasty discoveries he makes between its covers. Wally starts small but soon develops a taste for rarer words and gleefully twists himself into the likes of "syzygy" and "sesquipedalian," "pyx" and "zymurgy."

From its first publication in 1964, children and adults alike have been delighted by Wally's wriggling through rhymes and words of increasing ambition and complexity, his acrobatics whimsically illustrated by cartoonist Arnold Roth. Clifton Fadiman was a distinguished author, editor, and radio and television personality. Over the course of his career, he was the editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, the book critic of The New Yorker, and the host of the popular radio program Information Please. In 1993, Fadiman received the National Book Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This edition includes an afterword by Clifton Fadiman's daughter, Anne Fadiman, who wrote a memoir of her father, The Wine Lover's Daughter.

Wally the Wordworm is a one-of-a-kind read-aloud treat for word-loving parents and kids to share.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567926576
• ISBN13: 9781567926576
• Release Date: October 2019
• Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.1" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

Stands the Test of Time

My father gave me a copy of Wally the Wordworm when it was first published (1964), and I was immediately hooked. Chock full of wordplay, puns, obscure words, definitions and facts, I always picked up something new every time I read it. When I mislaid my old copy, I was delighted to find a used copy of the 1983 edition, illustrated by Lisa Atherton. My own children have enjoyed reading it every bit as much as I did.

A far cry from Go Dog Go!

My mom found a used copy of this gem and gave it to me when my firstborn (now 7) was a baby. He discovered it about a year ago and it's become a favorite. Lots of big, interesting words, cute illustrations and dazzling wordplay -- lots to satisfy a kid newly enamored of words (and as a writer/editor, I'm happy about that). For emerging readers who have likely grown tired of Dr. Seuss and simple "Dick and Jane"-type books, this is a gem waiting to be uncovered.