“Flibbertigibbety Words” by Donna Guthrie

Flibbertigibbety Words: Young Shakespeare Chases Inspiration

Donna Guthrie, illustrated by Asa Gilland
Page Street Kids (2020)
ISBN 9781645670629
Reviewed by Brighton (age 5) for Reader Views Kids (11/2020)

“Flibbertigibbety Words” by Donna Guthrie is a good book. It is about a boy named William who chases words all around interesting places. He can’t catch them but he meets many interesting people as he runs around. He meets three witches and twins and all sorts of people. Each page has a lot of words and they are written in very pretty and interesting ways. In the end, a man gives William an old-fashioned pen and paper and he begins writing words down. I liked this book. There is so much to see and the illustrations are so beautiful.

Additional comments by Jill Farris (Brighton’s homeschool teacher):

I adored this book. Each page is full of quotes and characters from different Shakespearean plays. The calligraphy and illustrations are beautifully crafted. The dialogue of the characters contains words and phrases believed to be invented by Shakespeare. These phrases, combined with the illustrations of characters from his plays, made the turning of each page feel as though we were on a delightful treasure hunt. Brighton, who is five and not familiar with Shakespeare, missed the point of the words but loved the illustrations.

I ordered a copy of this book for my 15-year-old son who is currently enthralled with MacBeth because each page is full of so much Shakespearean fun. The illustrations are, obviously, targeting kindergartners through early Elementary aged children but the dialogue, quotes and quips will only be fully appreciated by children who are thoroughly acquainted with Shakespeare and his writing. For a child familiar with Shakespeare, age 10-12 year-olds may, especially, appreciate this book. Truly a wonderful find.