Hello there, reader. We have a sneaking suspicion that because you’re here today, you may enjoy reading books… And that’s great, because we love books, too!
Of course, the only thing better than buying a new book for yourself is buying a book for your favorite book lover. But which books make great gifts?
We’ve gathered together a shopping list of some books that will delight all the book and word lovers out there. These terrific tomes even include some books written by our word-loving staff members at Dictionary.com.
You can’t go wrong with any of these choices, and there’s nothing wrong with buying a copy for yourself!
📕 Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story
A heartfelt story of culture and holiday tradition, Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story tells the tale of a young girl finding a way to celebrate her Puerto Rican traditions even after moving to snowy Ohio. The book, illustrated by Mónica Paola Rodríguez, is also available in a Spanish edition.
A word from author Mariel Jungkunz, Senior Research Editor: “Día de Reyes is celebrated all over Latin America and Spain, and everyone will love learning about this January 6 tradition that is so important to so many of us. For me, a love of language is a love of Spanish and English—and this book allowed me to play with two languages while telling a meaningful story!”
📕 Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries provides a witty examination of all of the fun, challenges, and oddities that come with writing dictionaries.
A word from author Kory Stamper, Senior Editor of Lexicography: “‘Word by Word’ is a love letter to English from someone who has spent decades chronicling the exploits of this weird, wild language. Bound to make you laugh and think, it’s the perfect gift for your favorite armchair etymologist, word nerd, or high-school English teacher.”
📕 Perfect English Grammar
Perfect English Grammar is an easy-to-use guide to grammar and punctuation that will make sure your day will never again be ruined by a comma or the future perfect tense.
A word from author Grant Barrett, Head of Lexicography: “Most word books are bought to give to someone else, but don’t let that stop you from getting yourself a copy of this book with its reassuring, bright orange cover. The publisher went bankrupt, but it wasn’t because ‘Perfect English Grammar’ had low sales. I’ve heard from teachers and students around the world who are using it (and even had an offer to translate it into Mongolian).”
📕 The Dictionary of Lost Words
Inspired by the real contributions of women to the Oxford English Dictionary, the historical fiction book The Dictionary of Lost Words by author Pip Williams tells the story of the power of words and the different impacts they have on women and men.
📕 The Liar’s Dictionary
The Liar’s Dictionary presents two romances separated by a century that are connected through mountweazels, intentional fake entries placed in a dictionary. A funny, charming story for any word lover!
📕 The Dictionary People
The Dictionary People explores the stories of the many odd and interesting people that have worked on the Oxford English Dictionary throughout its history. This book shines the spotlight on the oddballs, criminals, obsessives, and Australians who have contributed to our words and language.
📕 Historically Black Phrases
Black culture and language have greatly contributed to society, but this fact isn’t often acknowledged. Historically Black Phrases looks to change that by offering a clever, insightful analysis of terms and phrases that have entered the lexicon from Black vernacular.
📕 Stegothesaurus
Another pick for the youngest wordies, Stegothesaurus introduces readers to a dinosaur with a passion for synonyms—and cleverly shows the difference between the stegosaur and his language-loving brother, the stegothesaurus.
📕 Mango, Abuela, and Me
In this picture book, a granddaughter and grandmother find a way to communicate despite a language barrier thanks to an unlikely new friend: a sweet parrot named Mango.
