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King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do
Aimed at students in grades 7-12, "King Alfred's English" is an intriguing look at the development of language--a combination study in both history and English with a bit of linguistics woven throughout.
170 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 12, 2012
"The language you learn as a small child is the language of your heart. It is the one in which you call out when you are hurt, the one in which you holler when you lose your temper, the one in which you pray.
Is English your native language? If it is, then what we are about to study is the language of your heart...." -King Alfred's English, Laurie J. White
Yes, she hooked me on the first page.
Laurie White is a homeschool mom and author of King Alfred's English, A History of the Language We Speak. I'm not sure I would have ever sought out a book about the history of the English language. Actually, I'm quite certain that I have never really thought about the history of my native tongue at all. Nevertheless, when the opportunity to review this book came up, I was ... intrigued.
After all, since I was eight years old I've considered myself a writer ... primarily of the English language. (I once wrote a poem in French during my freshman French class. I decided afterwards I should stick with English.) So I figured learning a little about this tool of my trade should prove useful and interesting.
Laurie White did not let me down. King Alfred's English was a very interesting read. Starting in 'Pre-English Britain 55 BC', White forges through world history and church history covering such topics as ancient Rome, St. Patrick, King Arther, the printing press, the Brothers Grimm, Martin Luther, and Tyndale. The book reads as though you are sitting next to White as she passionately and excitedly spills forth the wealth of knowledge she has on how one event in history after another has effected the English language.
King Alfred's English is also written from a distinctly Christian worldview. White discusses how our language is evidence for design. This is shown through 'The Language Law' which is 'Living languages always simplify over time'. She gives several examples for this including how today we use the word 'you' when in Shakespeare's day we would have used 'thou', 'thee', 'ye' and 'you'. White explains...
"The complexity of primitive languages and the fact that languages are observed to simplify over time are seen as clear evidence for supernatural design."
There are so many interesting tidbits in this book that I hardly know what to include in this review... The English language was once considered crude to speak openly which is why we often have two words for the same thing. Considering how a gentleman landowner might speak Anglo-Saxon to the peasant who worked in the kitchen, but then would speak French to the nobleman who dined with him, we now understand why so many of our animal names change once they reach our dining table...
Anglo-Saxon French
cow beef
deer venison
sheep mutton
calf veal
It was King Alfred who "had understood that to encourage a national feeling of patriotism, a people needed to feel proud of their native language", which is why the author titled her work "King Alfred's English". And it was the achievement of having the English Bible in print that proved that "English could convey man's deepest yearnings and God's greatest truths with all the precision, depth, beauty, and nuance of great literature....and English would never again be seen as a second-rate language...".
The recommended age for this book is 12 and up. My oldest is 11 and I did not give him this book to read...yet. Personally, I will be using this as a high school text for two reasons. One, because as I said before, the author uses a very conversational tone throughout the book. I don't mind this so much, but I know my young students would not stay interested as long without more storytelling. This book moved from one exciting event in history to the next rather quickly often leaving me wanting to know more of that story. Students who already have a good base knowledge of world history might find this book more enjoyable.
Secondly, White offers tons, and I do mean tons, of supplemental teacher and student materials for King Alfred's English free on her website, www.theshorterword.com . These include links to online articles, videos, movies, literature, and worksheets for each chapter of the book! As a matter of fact, there is enough material to create a full semester (one half unit) of history, or a 1/4 unit history plus 1/4 unit English.
King Alfred's English can be purchased in softcover for $16.95 retail or for Kindle for $5.95. I did review the Kindle edition of this book and it read beautifully on my Kindle app.
Disclaimer:
I have been
given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the last
few years. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free
product. I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in
review groups and I have enjoyed trying out these products and giving you my
honest opinion.
February 17, 2022
I found it difficult to give this book a star rating, as I would rate it perhaps 1.5 stars in accomplishing the goals I had in selecting this book for our homeschool reading, and maybe at most 4 stars in how well it set out to do what I think the author was trying to do. I settled on 3 stars because I rarely rate a book lower, and it's not the author's fault that I was looking for something a bit different.
First, I think the description of the book could have been clearer as to to the major focus of the book. Author Laurie J. White takes readers through the highlights of English history (and some Reformation history) through the lens of how those historical events affected the language. To be honest, I was looking for a book that was MOSTLY about language to share with my homeschooled children, with some historical references as needed. Instead, I found page after page of historical narrative with a few language tidbits thrown in along the way (and a couple chapters at the end that were more fully language-focused). If that is the type of book you are looking for, this might be a good fit for you!
Second, I was a bit surprised by the obvious Evangelical Christian point of view of the author. This wasn't a problem for me personally as a reader, but I think readers coming from other non-Evangelical Christian points of view (especially Catholic readers) would find her views biased, and those not coming from a Christian point of view at all would most likely not find this to be a suitable choice for their family. I didn't think this was obviously stated in the description on Amazon, so I wanted to mention it to any future readers considering this book.
I also found a couple of issues that would prevent this from ever being a five star book for me. First, the author claims that the first or primary rule of language change is that languages always simplify over time. This is a highly disputed statement among the linguistics community, something even a simple Google search will tell you. In terms of one particular aspect in one family of languages - the inflectional grammar of Indo-European languages - languages have "simplified" in that while many languages in the past were highly inflected, few languages are now. This is only one aspect of language complexity! Rules involving word order, the size of the vocabulary set, and other aspects of grammar have become more complex. Linguists disagree on how to measure complexity among disparate unrelated languages worldwide. How can we compare the tonal variations in Mandarin to the vast vocabulary and orthography of English to the lengthy words created in an agglutinating language like Turkish and say that one is inherently more complex than another or that they are all "less complex" than Lain or Old English? This is a place for acknowledging that "complexity" is still an under-studied aspect of Linguistics as an academic discipline, not to make blanket statements.
Finally, I really wish the author would have footnoted her work. She gives a list of works to refer to for further reading and study, but not clear references as to where specific facts or assertions may have originated. I think this would have helped give the author additional credibility and given readers like me who may have been skeptical on some points, major or minor, a chance to engage with the sources that led the author to make those assertions in the first place.
First, I think the description of the book could have been clearer as to to the major focus of the book. Author Laurie J. White takes readers through the highlights of English history (and some Reformation history) through the lens of how those historical events affected the language. To be honest, I was looking for a book that was MOSTLY about language to share with my homeschooled children, with some historical references as needed. Instead, I found page after page of historical narrative with a few language tidbits thrown in along the way (and a couple chapters at the end that were more fully language-focused). If that is the type of book you are looking for, this might be a good fit for you!
Second, I was a bit surprised by the obvious Evangelical Christian point of view of the author. This wasn't a problem for me personally as a reader, but I think readers coming from other non-Evangelical Christian points of view (especially Catholic readers) would find her views biased, and those not coming from a Christian point of view at all would most likely not find this to be a suitable choice for their family. I didn't think this was obviously stated in the description on Amazon, so I wanted to mention it to any future readers considering this book.
I also found a couple of issues that would prevent this from ever being a five star book for me. First, the author claims that the first or primary rule of language change is that languages always simplify over time. This is a highly disputed statement among the linguistics community, something even a simple Google search will tell you. In terms of one particular aspect in one family of languages - the inflectional grammar of Indo-European languages - languages have "simplified" in that while many languages in the past were highly inflected, few languages are now. This is only one aspect of language complexity! Rules involving word order, the size of the vocabulary set, and other aspects of grammar have become more complex. Linguists disagree on how to measure complexity among disparate unrelated languages worldwide. How can we compare the tonal variations in Mandarin to the vast vocabulary and orthography of English to the lengthy words created in an agglutinating language like Turkish and say that one is inherently more complex than another or that they are all "less complex" than Lain or Old English? This is a place for acknowledging that "complexity" is still an under-studied aspect of Linguistics as an academic discipline, not to make blanket statements.
Finally, I really wish the author would have footnoted her work. She gives a list of works to refer to for further reading and study, but not clear references as to where specific facts or assertions may have originated. I think this would have helped give the author additional credibility and given readers like me who may have been skeptical on some points, major or minor, a chance to engage with the sources that led the author to make those assertions in the first place.
October 5, 2023
A very different and quite interesting book with varied facets of history. Written for highschoolers, I believe.
August 26, 2025
This is 2 stars for me because of the veneer of being an educational book for teenagers but in reality it is pushing a Christian narrative, and a somewhat anti-Catholic one at that (I am Catholic). The indoctrination disguised as academic history drove me crazy. And yet I finished it as there is actually lots of accurate and interesting, and indeed fascinating, historical information about the development of the English language.
For those marketing the book, this should be classed as a book for homeschoolers with a Christian (but not Catholic) worldview who want to infuse their children's education with religious opinions. I liked the friendly writing style but was shocked that a particular religious worldview was being presented as 'truth'.
For those marketing the book, this should be classed as a book for homeschoolers with a Christian (but not Catholic) worldview who want to infuse their children's education with religious opinions. I liked the friendly writing style but was shocked that a particular religious worldview was being presented as 'truth'.
February 26, 2014
I was a bit hesitant to read this as I bought it on sale for Kindle and thought it might be inferior as so many other such books have been. Turns out it was surprisingly good.
We read it aloud during Morning Time and the short,interesting chapters made it ideal for this situation. My husband was listening in as we finished the book and he asked, "What book is that? I would like to read it."
The perfect Morning Time book.
We read it aloud during Morning Time and the short,interesting chapters made it ideal for this situation. My husband was listening in as we finished the book and he asked, "What book is that? I would like to read it."
The perfect Morning Time book.
January 23, 2017
Love this book!
Enjoyed the historical analysis of language from its beginnings! Wonderfully detailed, but completely understandable for those not familiar with linguistic development. Heartily recommend.
Enjoyed the historical analysis of language from its beginnings! Wonderfully detailed, but completely understandable for those not familiar with linguistic development. Heartily recommend.
July 23, 2017
More a History of the Bible
Readable, not scholarly. Prejudiced and with major and minor errors of fact. In desperate need of an editor in places.
Readable, not scholarly. Prejudiced and with major and minor errors of fact. In desperate need of an editor in places.
June 12, 2022
I don’t remember when or why I bought this, but when I was reorganizing my “To Read” piles I discovered that I had several books about the English Language I hadn’t read yet. I do love our language. I’ve been fascinated with it since my first linguistics class in college. I always loved books, but I hadn’t always considered the way languages develop before that class, but it’s been a favorite topic ever since.
Because of that college class and other reading I’ve done on the subject, this book didn’t really present me with any new information, however, I definitely enjoyed the fun, casual tone of this one, along with the well-organized and interesting presentation. This would be a very accessible introduction to linguistics for a teen or college student or even an adult who wants a simple introduction. I loved the history of Alfred and all of the great information on the King James Bible and Shakespeare. It’s all very nicely done. It’s also clearly written from a pro-Christian perspective, which I appreciated. It doesn’t really change the facts presented, just the attitude or tone of the commentary a little, but I’ve read plenty from the other approach so this was a refreshing change.
I saw one review that criticizes the book for lack of footnotes and references, but this isn’t that kind of book. I saw nothing here that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and she does have a list of books for further reading and reference if you want the details, but I feel confident that the information here is generally reliable. The ebook, however, does have a couple of editing issues. I’m pretty sure those were done with accidental duplication of a few words, but it was nothing I couldn’t figure out.
Because of that college class and other reading I’ve done on the subject, this book didn’t really present me with any new information, however, I definitely enjoyed the fun, casual tone of this one, along with the well-organized and interesting presentation. This would be a very accessible introduction to linguistics for a teen or college student or even an adult who wants a simple introduction. I loved the history of Alfred and all of the great information on the King James Bible and Shakespeare. It’s all very nicely done. It’s also clearly written from a pro-Christian perspective, which I appreciated. It doesn’t really change the facts presented, just the attitude or tone of the commentary a little, but I’ve read plenty from the other approach so this was a refreshing change.
I saw one review that criticizes the book for lack of footnotes and references, but this isn’t that kind of book. I saw nothing here that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and she does have a list of books for further reading and reference if you want the details, but I feel confident that the information here is generally reliable. The ebook, however, does have a couple of editing issues. I’m pretty sure those were done with accidental duplication of a few words, but it was nothing I couldn’t figure out.
February 22, 2023
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. The author does an excellent job of taking the reader through the history of the English language, from Pre-English Britain to the modern day. With the multiple invasions of the country came the introduction of new words and grammar rules, which have continued to evolve. Living languages are always changing, after all. Once considered a plain and common language, looked down upon by scholars and nobility, alike, English is now a truly global language and for everyone!
July 22, 2025
Fascinating! I loved this book! This truly was an example of “education being the science of relations” and I loved the connections with the history and literature I’ve been learning with my daughter, along with our personal genealogical research. I stopped the recording countless times to share tidbits with my husband or my daughter. I can’t wait for her to read it in a few years.
August 16, 2017
Thanks to home education, I've discovered another wonderful history book.
November 27, 2020
This book was really cool and interesting! (See my notes and highlights for further information.)
April 4, 2023
Really interesting view of history with a lot of useful information. Would definitely recommend.
December 27, 2023
Fantastic book! Highly recommend. Read for morning time term 1 and half of term 2. We all really enjoyed this one and learned so much. ..krb 12/27/23
September 18, 2025
Delightfully interesting, humor-laced writing that offered a myriad of historical rabbit holes which I would now love to jump down.
August 9, 2012
I never imagined that learning about the English language could be exciting or something more than dull – however having had the pleasure of receiving King Alfred’s English to read and review, my opinion has now changed. This is geared for ages 12 to adults, but I could see a younger child who is advanced enjoying this book too. If you have a high school student and are wondering if this could be used for credits toward graduation, the answer is yes. If you use this book in conjunction with the supplemental (and free) materials your student could earn a full semester of history (equal to 1/2 unit) or 1/4 unit history and 1/4 unit English.
As I was reading this I was excited about how well it tied in to our current studies with our history curricula – however, my oldest didn’t catch my excitement but she’s only 10. I very much enjoy history but never really gave much thought to how we got our current language and why we actually speak it. Most of my school career was spent on figuring out grammar without really explaining why and even now my grammar isn’t always correct – although I do strive to work on that. Reading Laurie White’s book has me wanting to learn more and even appreciate our constantly changing language, although I do enjoy learning Latin as well.
There are many items of interest that you or your student will learn as the book is read, such as:
the English were not the British
you probably don’t say the word “when” like your parents – especially if you’re under age 50
what is a philologist (you’d be surprised by who two famous ones are!)
and more but this is what caught my attention more….
was that when people write Xmas it’s not as derogatory as Christians today would think. The x is the Greek symbol for chi which is the first letter in Christ’s name. So while some who are not Christians think it’s a way to remove Christ from Christmas they are actually giving honor to the One that is the reason for celebrating in the first place! Wow! I can’t wait to use this information with some family and friends come the Christmas season again! Of course there are more surprising facts as you turn each page and these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Laurie has compiled an extensive list of free resources to go along with this book such as tests, worksheets, movies, pictures, articles and much more. It is easy to see why it could be a great asset to the high school student who needs to account for credits and best of all it’s from a Christian worldview so the Bible plays a major part in our history of English. You can find the student resources on the student page, and the teacher’s resources such as answers to the tests and worksheets on the teacher’s page. I also appreciate the fact that she is honest that not all the movies that she recommends are suitable for all audiences and she advises the parent to check them out first if there are questions.
**Disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.
As I was reading this I was excited about how well it tied in to our current studies with our history curricula – however, my oldest didn’t catch my excitement but she’s only 10. I very much enjoy history but never really gave much thought to how we got our current language and why we actually speak it. Most of my school career was spent on figuring out grammar without really explaining why and even now my grammar isn’t always correct – although I do strive to work on that. Reading Laurie White’s book has me wanting to learn more and even appreciate our constantly changing language, although I do enjoy learning Latin as well.
There are many items of interest that you or your student will learn as the book is read, such as:
the English were not the British
you probably don’t say the word “when” like your parents – especially if you’re under age 50
what is a philologist (you’d be surprised by who two famous ones are!)
and more but this is what caught my attention more….
was that when people write Xmas it’s not as derogatory as Christians today would think. The x is the Greek symbol for chi which is the first letter in Christ’s name. So while some who are not Christians think it’s a way to remove Christ from Christmas they are actually giving honor to the One that is the reason for celebrating in the first place! Wow! I can’t wait to use this information with some family and friends come the Christmas season again! Of course there are more surprising facts as you turn each page and these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Laurie has compiled an extensive list of free resources to go along with this book such as tests, worksheets, movies, pictures, articles and much more. It is easy to see why it could be a great asset to the high school student who needs to account for credits and best of all it’s from a Christian worldview so the Bible plays a major part in our history of English. You can find the student resources on the student page, and the teacher’s resources such as answers to the tests and worksheets on the teacher’s page. I also appreciate the fact that she is honest that not all the movies that she recommends are suitable for all audiences and she advises the parent to check them out first if there are questions.
**Disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.
February 8, 2016
King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do by Laurie J. White is a book intended to be used in high school as a homeschool course on the origins of the English language. It is recommended for ages 12-adult. So since it can be for adults those of us with no kids in the age range where given the option of reviewing it ourselves. My husband is way into the English language so I thought I'd give this book a try if for nothing else than to be able to converse with my husband on the subject. I was actually very concerned that it would be dry and boring.....I mean if I'm forced to tell the truth. :)
This book is anything but boring. Laurie has an engaging writing style that draws you right in. She adds little bits of humor throughout which is rare to find in a scholarly book. One of my favorite thing is she continually points to how the English language was shaped by Christians and how different things affected us. She even has a small part on the veracity of Scripture. I was very impressed.
Some of the things you will learn are why a cow is called a cow while it is alive and once we start eating it it is called beef, or why it seems like Shakespeare and other writers of his times ignored grammar rules, or why we spell some words with a "wh" even though all we pronounce is the "w". I learned tons of bits of information like that. I am now going to be all the rage for dinner parties among my friends with all my trivia. (HA like we go to "dinner parties" with four children, three of whom are toddlers)
To make this even more user friendly as a curriculum she has extra information for each chapter so you could easily turn each chapter into a week long lesson. Plus, when your students learn the history and the whys behind some of our weird spellings and words it will make it easier for them to deal with. I highly recommend this book for the student as well as just a great read for an adult. And make sure to read all my fellow crew member's reviews by clicking the banner below.
As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received this product at no cost to me in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.
This book is anything but boring. Laurie has an engaging writing style that draws you right in. She adds little bits of humor throughout which is rare to find in a scholarly book. One of my favorite thing is she continually points to how the English language was shaped by Christians and how different things affected us. She even has a small part on the veracity of Scripture. I was very impressed.
Some of the things you will learn are why a cow is called a cow while it is alive and once we start eating it it is called beef, or why it seems like Shakespeare and other writers of his times ignored grammar rules, or why we spell some words with a "wh" even though all we pronounce is the "w". I learned tons of bits of information like that. I am now going to be all the rage for dinner parties among my friends with all my trivia. (HA like we go to "dinner parties" with four children, three of whom are toddlers)
To make this even more user friendly as a curriculum she has extra information for each chapter so you could easily turn each chapter into a week long lesson. Plus, when your students learn the history and the whys behind some of our weird spellings and words it will make it easier for them to deal with. I highly recommend this book for the student as well as just a great read for an adult. And make sure to read all my fellow crew member's reviews by clicking the banner below.
As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received this product at no cost to me in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.
October 11, 2012
This book, which was actually written for use as a middle/high school homeschool textbook, and has a lot of supporting materials online to that end, is a lot of fun just to read. There are more than 800,000 entries in English; far more than in the next-broadest language (German). But a lot of those words aren't "English" (the language of the "Angles" who came to Briton centuries ago); their origins are Latin, French, Norse, or Greek, with a smattering of Indian, Native American, Pakistani, and who-knows-what-all else. How did this happen -- how did one small island give birth to such a promiscuous language? White traces the development of English from Roman Britain through the British Empire, with forays into the Reformation and the Renaissance, and the formation of modern spelling and grammar rules, showing how each round of invasions and excursions enriched and informed the language we speak today. The discussions of the French-speaking Normans in Britain, the translation of the Bible, and Shakespeare stood out to me as particularly fascinating, as of course did the story of King Alfred, the fourth-born son who never expected to be king, so he first became a scholar.
If you have any interest in history or language, this book is a lot of fun.
If you have any interest in history or language, this book is a lot of fun.
January 12, 2014
Briana's review:
I enjoyed this book because it tells the story of the English language, from its beginning to the present. The author spends time describing and explaining each morph in English resulting from inward changes and outward influences such as the invasions of the Northmen and the French, as well as the changes brought about by the printing press. King Alfred's English introduces readers to one of the most complex, facinating and influential languages yet to be spoken. You will come away from this book with a new appriciation for the beauty and creativity of the English launguage and will discover a newfound affection for the language you speak. You will also understand why our language is so difficult to spell, and you will be able to trace hundreds of English words back to their origins. King Alfred's English opened my eyes to the richness of English, and I came to see that English, a language that compiles words and concepts from many different peoples, is the perfect representation of America.
I enjoyed this book because it tells the story of the English language, from its beginning to the present. The author spends time describing and explaining each morph in English resulting from inward changes and outward influences such as the invasions of the Northmen and the French, as well as the changes brought about by the printing press. King Alfred's English introduces readers to one of the most complex, facinating and influential languages yet to be spoken. You will come away from this book with a new appriciation for the beauty and creativity of the English launguage and will discover a newfound affection for the language you speak. You will also understand why our language is so difficult to spell, and you will be able to trace hundreds of English words back to their origins. King Alfred's English opened my eyes to the richness of English, and I came to see that English, a language that compiles words and concepts from many different peoples, is the perfect representation of America.
April 21, 2016
This is linguistics-lite. The prose is conversational and easy to read but I was expecting a more scholarly exploration of the subject. The bibliography is not heavy in the linguistics so I am not sure how much of the book is based on scholarly research and how much is purely the author's own interpretation. And there we come against another issue I struggled with, there was a great deal of commentary and side trails that loosely fit with the subject. Not to mention the extreme Anglophile viewpoint. To the book's credit, it does give a quick overview of the contributing factors to the English language with some good anecdotal examples. However, I was hoping for more depth, for which I was disappointed. On the positive end, I think my older elementary aged child might get a great deal out of it. It gives a good basic link between history of England, history of the church, and language for one who does not know much about these subjects.
December 30, 2010
Fun read--- quick, light-hearted (but surprisingly comprehensive) overview of how our amazing English language evolved and why it has become one of the foremost languages spoken on the planet. I had heard much of this before in bits and pieces, but her almost conversational style and clear time-line made it a great review and historical reference. Written by a home educating mother after her children were grown, she remembers how to keep someone's attention. I will be using this in my English curriculum and would happily recommend it to others!
April 19, 2013
A very interesting book. Easy to read, gives a to-the-point history of the English Language. However, I will say that I don't feel this book to be appropriate for formal education. I read this book because my collage professor chose it for the History of the English Language course I attended this semester, and while I did not personally mind the Christian aspects of the text( one could hardly call it undertones or subtle, it was in fact very frank), it made for awkward conversation in the classroom and often led the class off topic.
But from a personal standpoint, it was enjoyable reading.
But from a personal standpoint, it was enjoyable reading.
August 6, 2012
This is a fascinating book about the history of the English language. There are so any interesting facts thrown in that I shared in many conversations as I read it. I liked the author's conversational style. It was easy and light reading, but I learned so much from it. It's written from a Christian perspective with lots of discussion about religion and the history of the Christian church mixed in as well. So much of history is about religion, tough, so it fits.
October 31, 2010
I really enjoyed reading Laurie's book on the history of English. I found it so intriguing where many English words came from. I also enjoyed here approach to include the world history surrounding Britain at the time our language was developing. The World History inclusion added more detail to how our language developed into our English language
January 16, 2015
Extremely interesting!!! Quick overview of history as regards to what the English language endured through different happenings. Written for middle and high school students, with lively and engaging tone. Very informative and fun.
May 19, 2013
Very easy to read. A concise look at historical influences on our English language, giving a great overall understanding on the development of spelling, pronunciation and grammar rules. Definitely a book I'd recommend teens to read. Fun discussion points too.
June 12, 2022
I'm not at all opposed to amateurs writing academic texts, it's something I'd like to see more of. But if you're marketing a text as academic and for teenagers then there really ought to be citations for all the claims being made.
July 11, 2012
What an entertaining, informative book!! I can't wait to share more in my full review in a few weeks...
February 19, 2019
Good overview of our language for the kids, with enough information that I learned a few things while reading to them.
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