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The Dictionary Story
Dictionary wishes she could tell a story like other books. So one day, she decides to bring her words to life. How exciting it is to finally have an adventure on her very own pages! But what will she do when her characters collide and everything gets all in a jumble, causing the most enormous tantrum to explode? This isn’t what she wanted at all! Luckily her friend Alphabet knows exactly what to do and sings a song that brings calm and order to Dictionary’s pages once again.
56 pages, Hardcover
Published August 6, 2024
About the author
Oliver Jeffers
107 books2,850 followersOliver Jeffers' work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, and HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA publish his award-winning picture books, now translated into over 30 languages.
In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.
Jeffers won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo, and in 2013 Jeffers co-directed the video for U2's Ordinary Love with Premo. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jeffers now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.
Jeffers won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo, and in 2013 Jeffers co-directed the video for U2's Ordinary Love with Premo. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jeffers now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
August 6, 2024
Read the definitions!!
January 2, 2025
A dictionary decides it wants to have a story like all the other books on the shelf with it. But can such an organized book handle the chaos that comes when words get to choose their own order?
In addition to the zany adventure that runs through the book, each page is framed by original dictionary definitions that enhance the tale and are packed with humorous tidbits and asides. You can speed through the book in minutes and then spend an hour reading all the fine print if you choose.
This 2024 picture book was inspired by A Dictionary Story by Winston, Sam (2014) Paperback, a text-based work that Sam Winston originally wrote and designed in 2001 and had published in 2006. You can get a glimpse of it here. This new version is distinctly different though, starting with gendering the dictionary as she and taking the tale in new directions with Oliver Jeffers art and Yasmina Cowan's photography.
In addition to the zany adventure that runs through the book, each page is framed by original dictionary definitions that enhance the tale and are packed with humorous tidbits and asides. You can speed through the book in minutes and then spend an hour reading all the fine print if you choose.
This 2024 picture book was inspired by A Dictionary Story by Winston, Sam (2014) Paperback, a text-based work that Sam Winston originally wrote and designed in 2001 and had published in 2006. You can get a glimpse of it here. This new version is distinctly different though, starting with gendering the dictionary as she and taking the tale in new directions with Oliver Jeffers art and Yasmina Cowan's photography.
August 30, 2024
Words go wild!
Dictionary is filled with words and meanings, but the words don't meld together to form a story. She wants to tell a story! So dictionary makes her words come alive. Soon her pages are overflowing with action! From hungry alligators to ruling queens to tantrum-ing tornadoes! It’s all here in dictionary’s pages. Come follow the fun and chaos.
You have to see this book. It’s a visual stunner! We are in the dictionary. Animals burst through the page, donuts roll over meanings, and words slide all over the place. OH! And be sure to read the definitions. They’re full of imagination and joy. Listen to tea’s definition….
“A good reason to have a break and sit down for a while.”
Well said dictionary!
A fun-with-words read that will make you smile, sing the alphabet, and tip your hat to the dictionaries of the world. Dictionaries definitely have stories to tell.
Highly recommended.
Dictionary is filled with words and meanings, but the words don't meld together to form a story. She wants to tell a story! So dictionary makes her words come alive. Soon her pages are overflowing with action! From hungry alligators to ruling queens to tantrum-ing tornadoes! It’s all here in dictionary’s pages. Come follow the fun and chaos.
You have to see this book. It’s a visual stunner! We are in the dictionary. Animals burst through the page, donuts roll over meanings, and words slide all over the place. OH! And be sure to read the definitions. They’re full of imagination and joy. Listen to tea’s definition….
“A good reason to have a break and sit down for a while.”
Well said dictionary!
A fun-with-words read that will make you smile, sing the alphabet, and tip your hat to the dictionaries of the world. Dictionaries definitely have stories to tell.
Highly recommended.
August 10, 2026
In The Dictionary Story (2024) Oliver Jeffers’ artwork and Sam Winston’s text delightfully and engagingly show and tell how a dictionary notices that while other books tell stories, she is just a list of definitions. A charmingly metafictional premise for The Dictionary Story to be sure, but yes, I do kind of wonder why the dictionary in question needs to be female, as I for one would definitely much prefer a neutral gender, not it as a pronoun of course, but they and them instead of she and her (albeit I wonder if my German background is interfering a bit here since in German, the noun book has a neutral gender and that the word for dictionary equally so, thus being das Buch and das Lexikon).
Now eager for a change, Dictionary is illustratively and textually shown by Jeffers and Winston as desiring and then also deciding to bring their (and yes, for me, their and not her) words to life, and how things almost immediately get spectacularly out of hand, having words and pictures featuring and providing both verbal and pictorial hijinks and much hilarity on every page of The Dictionary Story, sweetly, strangely, wordily. So in The Dictionary Story, a hungry alligator invades the D pages of the dictionary in search of a doughnut snack, the doughnut then rolls further into the pages with the alligator in hot pursuit (with this reminding me not only of the folktale of the Little Gingerbread Boy but also and probably even more so of the German and Dutch equivalent, where the the gingerbread boy has morphed into an animated, perpetually rolling pancake), the alligator and the chased after doughnut also running into a ghost, the moon, a queen, with utter and that totally humorous chaos happening in The Dictionary Story through the appearance of a tornado, spilled ink, a Viking (and so on and so on). But yes, when Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston describe and depict in The Dictionary Story Dictionary’s friend Alphabet using the world-famous Alphabet Song, chaos is stopped, is averted and everything gets back in order once more in and for Dictionary (although to be honest, the use of the Alphabet Song in The Dictionary Story to once again make the dictionary orderly and non chaotic is cute enough but is also at least for me kind of deus ex machina like and that this also happens way to quickly and much much too easily all things considering). And yes, a lovely and fun combination of text and images is The Dictionary Story, with Sam Winston’s humour and Oliver Jeffers’ expressive and visually hilarious illustrations being both a verbal and also a visual treat. But unfortunately, I will have to rate The Dictionary Story with not four but only three stars since the marginalia (and supposedly also really funny) fictional dictionary inclusions on every page of The Dictionary Story are much too tiny for my ageing eyes (even if I am wearing my reading glasses and that the black printing on brown background for the dictionary parts of The Dictionary Story also gives me eyestrain (and so much so that I have in fact not bothered with the marginalia after the first few pages).
Now eager for a change, Dictionary is illustratively and textually shown by Jeffers and Winston as desiring and then also deciding to bring their (and yes, for me, their and not her) words to life, and how things almost immediately get spectacularly out of hand, having words and pictures featuring and providing both verbal and pictorial hijinks and much hilarity on every page of The Dictionary Story, sweetly, strangely, wordily. So in The Dictionary Story, a hungry alligator invades the D pages of the dictionary in search of a doughnut snack, the doughnut then rolls further into the pages with the alligator in hot pursuit (with this reminding me not only of the folktale of the Little Gingerbread Boy but also and probably even more so of the German and Dutch equivalent, where the the gingerbread boy has morphed into an animated, perpetually rolling pancake), the alligator and the chased after doughnut also running into a ghost, the moon, a queen, with utter and that totally humorous chaos happening in The Dictionary Story through the appearance of a tornado, spilled ink, a Viking (and so on and so on). But yes, when Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston describe and depict in The Dictionary Story Dictionary’s friend Alphabet using the world-famous Alphabet Song, chaos is stopped, is averted and everything gets back in order once more in and for Dictionary (although to be honest, the use of the Alphabet Song in The Dictionary Story to once again make the dictionary orderly and non chaotic is cute enough but is also at least for me kind of deus ex machina like and that this also happens way to quickly and much much too easily all things considering). And yes, a lovely and fun combination of text and images is The Dictionary Story, with Sam Winston’s humour and Oliver Jeffers’ expressive and visually hilarious illustrations being both a verbal and also a visual treat. But unfortunately, I will have to rate The Dictionary Story with not four but only three stars since the marginalia (and supposedly also really funny) fictional dictionary inclusions on every page of The Dictionary Story are much too tiny for my ageing eyes (even if I am wearing my reading glasses and that the black printing on brown background for the dictionary parts of The Dictionary Story also gives me eyestrain (and so much so that I have in fact not bothered with the marginalia after the first few pages).
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May 14, 2025Oliver Jeffers i Sam Winston us estimo moltíssim. No deixeu de fer mai àlbums il·lustrats junts 🩷
March 6, 2025
Exceptionally clever. Super for young children.
August 6, 2024
cloud /klaud/: A mass of water or ice particles floating in the air. Clouds are usually white or grey. They are never rushed and always appear on time (which can be sudden, slow or not at all). When they do arrive, they make lots of different shapes with cool names like nimbus and nacreous. They are sometimes a little scared of ghosts and make rain when they cry.
One of the many delightful definitions throughout this fun little tale.
☁️I am a cloud.☁️
One of the many delightful definitions throughout this fun little tale.
☁️I am a cloud.☁️
August 17, 2024
A darling, clever, well done picture book that uses play on words to construct a visual feast while delivering a darling story. If I was buying picture books for young friends, this would go to the top of my list!
August 31, 2024
The illustrations for this children’s book are just next level! I absolutely adore the idea of the words from the dictionary manifesting as images jumping out of the dictionary - like a zebra galloping out of the pages? Amazing.
The story itself is also very sweet - seeing characters from words on the pages of a dictionary travelling through the book, bumping into other words manifesting as characters. It’s just lovely (a bit nonsensical, but fun and lovely).
An easy book to recommend for little readers, even for the illustrations alone.
ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
The story itself is also very sweet - seeing characters from words on the pages of a dictionary travelling through the book, bumping into other words manifesting as characters. It’s just lovely (a bit nonsensical, but fun and lovely).
An easy book to recommend for little readers, even for the illustrations alone.
ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
November 2, 2024
This was so unique and fun! Love the illustrations
February 16, 2026
the colors + illustrations in this picture book are gorgeous. be sure to read the definitions!
September 20, 2025
I’m not sure how many people still reference physical dictionaries, but this picture book shows what it looks like to flip through one and reveals the unexpected discoveries it can foster. I grew up in a reference book forward household where I was always told to look things up in the dictionary, the atlas or the encyclopedias. I suppose I had a lot of questions. This was before Google, but this habit has served me well.
The story is written in whimsical cursive, probably to contrast with the blocks of dictionary entries. I wish this writing was a little more legible, since young children are also not as accustomed to reading handwriting these days. There are a few leaps that readers without certain context will have to make, but for lovers of reference books, this is a sweet and silly romp through the dictionary.
The story is written in whimsical cursive, probably to contrast with the blocks of dictionary entries. I wish this writing was a little more legible, since young children are also not as accustomed to reading handwriting these days. There are a few leaps that readers without certain context will have to make, but for lovers of reference books, this is a sweet and silly romp through the dictionary.
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January 19, 2025Enjoyed the fun illustrations and definitions
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December 17, 2024I was SO excited to bring this to a second grade class... they don't know what a dictionary is.
April 5, 2025
the definitions was my favorite part
August 4, 2024
Storytime read: This was a fun and creative book where miss Dictionary's words come to life and run amok.
August 17, 2024
This is an imaginative picture book that reinforces the joy of dictionaries; how they are arranged (in alphabetical order); and their special place in the world of literature as a sourcebook for all the words used in other books.
At the same time, it’s a commercially produced artist’s book, built on Sam Winston’s innovative and painstaking typography. In the book itself, Oliver Jeffers’ whimsical illustrations and characteristic handwriting-style letters dance across a bottom margin filled with definitions written and typeset by Winston. And behind this book - *The* Dictionary Story - is Winston’s decades-long engagement with the idea of what might happen if a dictionary started telling its own stories. This idea is something he’s explored using digital typesetting since at least 2001, when the first of his works entitled *A* Dictionary Story was published. There’s a brief summary of all the different dictionary stories at https://www.samwinston.com/projects/a...
In short, if you’re looking for a great story to read with your children, The Dictionary Story is a delight. And it’s also a real piece of art you can gift them. On his website, Sam Winston says, “The Dictionary Story is a book that I wish I had had as a kid. When I was young, I didn’t understand words, my imagination was crazy and reading seemed like torture.” I’m so glad that his attempts to grapple with words have resulted in such a wonderful commercial artist’s book to delight children and adults alike.
Three Word Review: “A” becomes “The”.
Note: I read the edition published in the UK by Walker Books, but only the US Candlewick edition was available to select on goodreads.
At the same time, it’s a commercially produced artist’s book, built on Sam Winston’s innovative and painstaking typography. In the book itself, Oliver Jeffers’ whimsical illustrations and characteristic handwriting-style letters dance across a bottom margin filled with definitions written and typeset by Winston. And behind this book - *The* Dictionary Story - is Winston’s decades-long engagement with the idea of what might happen if a dictionary started telling its own stories. This idea is something he’s explored using digital typesetting since at least 2001, when the first of his works entitled *A* Dictionary Story was published. There’s a brief summary of all the different dictionary stories at https://www.samwinston.com/projects/a...
In short, if you’re looking for a great story to read with your children, The Dictionary Story is a delight. And it’s also a real piece of art you can gift them. On his website, Sam Winston says, “The Dictionary Story is a book that I wish I had had as a kid. When I was young, I didn’t understand words, my imagination was crazy and reading seemed like torture.” I’m so glad that his attempts to grapple with words have resulted in such a wonderful commercial artist’s book to delight children and adults alike.
Three Word Review: “A” becomes “The”.
Note: I read the edition published in the UK by Walker Books, but only the US Candlewick edition was available to select on goodreads.
October 1, 2024
Make sure to read the back cover!!
January 11, 2025
Things I love:
* How the dictionary text is manipulated and so flexible. The story is coming to life from the dictionary, and that's exactly how it's illustrated. Also, the characters singing the ABCs to put the dictionary back in order makes me feel like everything is going to be ok. Wouldn't that be amazing - to simply sing a song to put things right?
* The font. Is there a better font than Oliver Jeffers' handwriting? Those lowercase G's!
* The idea is really brilliant. And a great prompt for young writers. What words would you choose to write an alphabetical story?
* I'm still pondering the puddle moment. Does the ending really mean the ghost has a nightly rendezvous with the feelings of others? Clouds? Or that the ghost has befriended the very essence of feelings?
* How the dictionary text is manipulated and so flexible. The story is coming to life from the dictionary, and that's exactly how it's illustrated. Also, the characters singing the ABCs to put the dictionary back in order makes me feel like everything is going to be ok. Wouldn't that be amazing - to simply sing a song to put things right?
* The font. Is there a better font than Oliver Jeffers' handwriting? Those lowercase G's!
* The idea is really brilliant. And a great prompt for young writers. What words would you choose to write an alphabetical story?
* I'm still pondering the puddle moment. Does the ending really mean the ghost has a nightly rendezvous with the feelings of others? Clouds? Or that the ghost has befriended the very essence of feelings?
October 20, 2024
I don’t usually give 5 stars to books but I just found this one so unique! The book is about a dictionary wanting to be more than just a book containing all the words and their meaning.
Reading to all the word definitions (at least the ones you can read completely) is so much fun too.
The illustrations were a great complement to the story!
Reading to all the word definitions (at least the ones you can read completely) is so much fun too.
The illustrations were a great complement to the story!
August 10, 2024
Very cool and unique.
August 16, 2024
It's a children's book but, for those of us obsessed with dictionaries, it's -- no other word -- delightful! Loved it!
August 28, 2024
This is a charming little book that has fun with the words in a dictionary. Book lovers will get a kick out of this one.
November 3, 2024
One we bought in the Honolulu Barnes and Noble. The kids love it! I read it aloud.
August 14, 2026
“Histoire n.f : [...] Les livres transportent les histoires jusqu’à ce que quelqu’un comme toi leur trouve une maison dans son imagination.”
J’aurais adoré lire cet album lorsque j’étais enfant. L’histoire est amusante, les dessins sont simples mais mignons et le design de l’album est super original et intéressant. Cependant, je n’ai pas vraiment accroché au livre en général. J’ai beaucoup aimé les définitions qui sont, au début, très réalistes et justes mais ponctuées de remarques comiques pour tout âge. Il y a une vraie différence entre le design du dictionnaire et des définitions, la typo et l’écriture faisant référence à un public plus adulte, et le design de l’histoire avec les dessins destinés aux plus jeunes. Cet album reste attrayant pour le public visé et divertissant, même pour les plus grands. La morale de l’histoire est aussi importante : le dictionnaire, se sentant délaissé car ses mots ne racontent pas d’histoire, se rend finalement compte que c’est grâce à ses mots que les histoires peuvent être écrites. Il n’a pas besoin de raconter une histoire pour être important, il a juste à être lui-même.
Quelques définitions que j’ai trouvé drôles et sympathiques :
“Chaos n.m : [...] Et lorsque certains dictionnaires donnent vie à leurs mots sur leurs pages, la situation peut être qualifiée d’assez chaotique.” (p.13)
“Docteur, docteure n. : [...] Ils prêtent un serment dans lequel ils promettent de ne pas faire de mal et d’aider les gens qui souffrent,même ceux qui se sont blessés en dansant tard la nuit, vêtus d’une drôle de tenue.” (p.14)
“Livre n.m : L’endroit où les livres préfèrent se rassembler s’appelle une bibliothèque. Les bibliothèques sont un peu comme les forêts : ce sont des lieux enchantés dans lesquels il fait bon se perdre. Les livres (comme les forêts) peuvent nous aider.” (p. 22)
J’aurais adoré lire cet album lorsque j’étais enfant. L’histoire est amusante, les dessins sont simples mais mignons et le design de l’album est super original et intéressant. Cependant, je n’ai pas vraiment accroché au livre en général. J’ai beaucoup aimé les définitions qui sont, au début, très réalistes et justes mais ponctuées de remarques comiques pour tout âge. Il y a une vraie différence entre le design du dictionnaire et des définitions, la typo et l’écriture faisant référence à un public plus adulte, et le design de l’histoire avec les dessins destinés aux plus jeunes. Cet album reste attrayant pour le public visé et divertissant, même pour les plus grands. La morale de l’histoire est aussi importante : le dictionnaire, se sentant délaissé car ses mots ne racontent pas d’histoire, se rend finalement compte que c’est grâce à ses mots que les histoires peuvent être écrites. Il n’a pas besoin de raconter une histoire pour être important, il a juste à être lui-même.
Quelques définitions que j’ai trouvé drôles et sympathiques :
“Chaos n.m : [...] Et lorsque certains dictionnaires donnent vie à leurs mots sur leurs pages, la situation peut être qualifiée d’assez chaotique.” (p.13)
“Docteur, docteure n. : [...] Ils prêtent un serment dans lequel ils promettent de ne pas faire de mal et d’aider les gens qui souffrent,même ceux qui se sont blessés en dansant tard la nuit, vêtus d’une drôle de tenue.” (p.14)
“Livre n.m : L’endroit où les livres préfèrent se rassembler s’appelle une bibliothèque. Les bibliothèques sont un peu comme les forêts : ce sont des lieux enchantés dans lesquels il fait bon se perdre. Les livres (comme les forêts) peuvent nous aider.” (p. 22)
December 22, 2024
A Dictionary just wants to tell a story through her pages like all the other books. However, she discovers that when her words come to life, chaos ensues. This is so cleverly written and designed, from the overarching plot of words gone wild, to the detail of the entertaining definitions on the dictionary’s pages.
A great book to teach children about:
- word meanings
- vocabulary expansion
- synonyms/antonyms
- alphabet sequencing
- descriptive language
- alliteration/assonance
Parts of speech:
- pronouns (she/her/he/him)
- verbs (e.g. tumbled, wandered, floated)
- prepositions (on, through, into, back, behind, past)
- adjectives (e.g. terrible, hungry, delicious)
Frequent sounds: /b/, /d/, /f/, /k/, /n/, /s/, /sh/, /t/, /th/
Writing style: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Illustration:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Plot: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Value:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 4.6/5
A great book to teach children about:
- word meanings
- vocabulary expansion
- synonyms/antonyms
- alphabet sequencing
- descriptive language
- alliteration/assonance
Parts of speech:
- pronouns (she/her/he/him)
- verbs (e.g. tumbled, wandered, floated)
- prepositions (on, through, into, back, behind, past)
- adjectives (e.g. terrible, hungry, delicious)
Frequent sounds: /b/, /d/, /f/, /k/, /n/, /s/, /sh/, /t/, /th/
Writing style: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Illustration:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Plot: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Value:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 4.6/5
December 28, 2024
Enchanting. For any child or adult but especially for the soul that loves discovering words and enjoying or creating story. Great introduction of the dictionary and its use to kids.
From the flyleaf: “…homage to the written word…Jeffer’s expressive illustrations and…Winston’s masterly use of typography, this unique picture book celebrates the endless fun found in playing with words and creating our own stories.” The use of typography as CH is so clever and as the CHs evolve from the pages into colorful personified words the narrative takes on a fun, frenzied momentum. So much fun. And as I old geezer, seeing an humorous homage to the dictionary was a balm for my need for texts over technology. Thank you!
Readalikes are going to be challenging because this is very unique; however, perhaps David Zeltser’s The Night Library, Caroline Crowe’s One Incredible Library Book, Ryan Uytdewilligen’s This Is Not My Story and Mo Willems for that chaotic out-of-the box creativity.
From the flyleaf: “…homage to the written word…Jeffer’s expressive illustrations and…Winston’s masterly use of typography, this unique picture book celebrates the endless fun found in playing with words and creating our own stories.” The use of typography as CH is so clever and as the CHs evolve from the pages into colorful personified words the narrative takes on a fun, frenzied momentum. So much fun. And as I old geezer, seeing an humorous homage to the dictionary was a balm for my need for texts over technology. Thank you!
Readalikes are going to be challenging because this is very unique; however, perhaps David Zeltser’s The Night Library, Caroline Crowe’s One Incredible Library Book, Ryan Uytdewilligen’s This Is Not My Story and Mo Willems for that chaotic out-of-the box creativity.
April 23, 2025
Lovely illustrated children's story book. Suitable for the very young to the very old.
It is about a dictionary that contains many words, but not a story. So it decided to make its words come alive.
Chaos and messiness, as many of the words become characters. The story now is how they could get back to their rightful place.
It is lovely as it ends with a song. 5 stars read.
It is about a dictionary that contains many words, but not a story. So it decided to make its words come alive.
Chaos and messiness, as many of the words become characters. The story now is how they could get back to their rightful place.
It is lovely as it ends with a song. 5 stars read.
August 25, 2024
Funny story to read with K-2nd graders and pair with an art project...perhaps decorating/painting old dictionaries??
September 24, 2024
No real story arc, but very creative and interesting illustrations. My four year old was not impressed.
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