Description

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Words are everywhere! Come on this lively adventure to learn more about how they can be shortened, extended, and even switched around. Meet ugly words, colourful words, and words that just need a friend.

The Art of Words is a unique, fun and interactive story about the magic of words. Two children and their adorable dog are illustrated playfully interacting with letters and words, and discovering myriad word functions and capabilities. Typography is a major feature and each page shows words that are scaled, coloured, and positioned to enhance their meaning and reflect the interplay of their verbal and visual aspects.

At only 100 words, this ‘language through adventure’ book is intended to excite young children about language, especially the joy of words and their capabilities. Visually, it depicts an imaginative natural world with abundant greenery, stars, animals and flowers, and children engaging in sports, adventure and STEM! The illustrations aim to embrace and depict diversity in gender and race and cater to varied literacy levels. The font choices are simple and clear, to ensure beginning readers can engage confidently.

Children, parents, carers and teachers alike will delight in this quirky celebration of the joy and power of words. Readers will come to appreciate the joy of making stories from words, and will be reminded that even books that teach can be fun!

About the Author

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Robert Vescio loves to read and is a self-confessed hoarder of books, especially children’s books. Robert enjoys writing stories and sharing his passion with children of all ages. Robert has worked in the publishing industry for more than 12 years as a Production Manager and a Photo Editor, working on a number of photographic magazines. He enjoyed sourcing photographic material from world-renowned photographers the ilkes of Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier and Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Two of his picture books, Finn and Puss and Eric Finds A Way were shortlisted in the 2018 CBCA Bilby Awards. Many of his short stories have been published in anthologies such as Packed Lunch, Short and Twisted, Charms Vol 1, The Toy Chest and The School Magazine NSW. He has won awards for his children’s writing including First Place in the 2012 Marshall Allan Hill Children’s Writing Competition and Highly Commended in the 2011 Marshall Allan Hill Children’s Writing Competition. Robert is a Books in Homes Role Model and enjoys visiting schools. His aim is to enthuse and inspire children to read and write and leave them bursting with imaginative ideas. .Robert is a BIG kid at heart! He is a huge fan of Disney and loves animation. He lives in Sydney and enjoys spending time with his children, who are an endless source of inspiration.

Joanna Bartel is a designer and illustrator. Previously, she has been a graphic designer for a boutique fashion label, a senior art and design teacher and an English teacher in Melbourne and Brisbane, and a copywriter and graphic designer in marketing. Now she brings her experience in Arts education, design, teaching and creative marketing to her illustration work! Joanna particularly loves character design and creating imaginative and playful images to engage children and enhance imaginative learning. While growing up, Joanna loved books, reading to her younger brothers, and writing and illustrating her own stories. Art, Design and English were always her favourite subjects at school and these interests guided her university studies and pursuit of varied roles in the creative industries. Joanna moved to Brisbane with her husband for his work in 2013 and, since becoming a mother to two small children, is now balancing family life with her other great loves of drawing and writing.

Praise For…

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The Art of Words is a unique, fun and interactive story about the magic of words.—National Library of Australia Newsletter

Bartel creates detailed worlds within the book, with plenty of interesting detail to capture attention. Her drawings exude joy and energy. Put simply, The Art of Words makes literacy fun. It reveals just how much power words actually have. A brilliant, unique addition to any bookshelf. Detailed teachers' notes are also available on the EK Books website, which are perfect not only for the classroom. Parents and caregivers will learn a lot about using books as a resource and tool.

—NZ Booklovers

I'm so grateful to the publisher for sending this sneak peek at what's sure to be a huge hit with the teachers and caregivers of aspiring young readers. Brilliantly illustrated, this simple text beautifully explains all of the wonderful things that words can do.—Corner on Character

The Art of Words is a celebration of the power of words, letters and punctuation. It highlights how they can be rearranged to convey different emotions and meanings and tell stories. Words can be found everywhere and this book exudes joy and excitement as a boy and a girl play with them.—Story Snug

Robert Vesico and Joanna Bartel have written and illustrated some beautiful words in this clever, funny and enlightening book.—Armadillo Newsletter

The Art of Words is a lovely, quirky picture book … it would be great to share with emerging readers and [would] be a good addition to a school library.—Picture Book Perfect

The Art of Words is a picture book that has all the right words in all the right places. It is suitable for children 4 to 8 years old and is a wonderful resource for a classroom for grades preschool to year 3.—Buzz Words

This book illustrates how language is a living thing and meant to be played with. When this book arrived here, I got legit excited about how it needs to be in every preschooler's book collection.—Oh Creative Day

The NSW Department of Education has declared vocabulary to be “the greatest predictor of success in literacy” so what better tool to inspire the study and development of words than a book about them.  The possibilities are endless but if you’re stuck there are teachers’ notes available.—The Bottom Shelf

Each page is perfectly designed for the words being explored. I love how they stand out alone but are also deeply connected within the illustrations to create greater meaning for the reader. It’s the perfect combination to promote conversation and questioning which in turn develops oral language, vocabulary and understanding.—Mr Loves Bookshelf