About
A word-origin dictionary for kids by Jess Zafarris, illustrated by Marco Marella and published by Rockridge Press in 2020. Entries run from everyday words like caterpillar to stranger ones like gnome and zombie, each traced back to its roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Sections on how those building blocks work sit alongside themed detours, including a Word Snack collection covering bacon, marshmallow, spaghetti, and yogurt.
Why we picked it
KarelEtymology is the shortcut nobody teaches kids. Learn that aster means star and you can arrive at asterisk, disaster, and astronaut to make spelling stop feeling so arbitrary.
