The American Sandbox Dictionary Review

A year or so ago my friend Dahlia emailed me a link.  It was a page where you could submit your kids' hilariously mispronounced words for possible publication in a book.  So I submitted a few of Cory's funny pronunciations and then went on my way.


Last month I received my own copy of The American Sandbox Dictionary of Children's Mispronounced English and quickly thumbed through to see if any of Cory's words had made the cut.  I didn't find any, but that's because what they were really looking for were words that kids said that meant one thing, but the child meant something different!  For example: chapsticks is what the child said, but chopsticks is what they meant.

Here's what it looks like in the dictionary:

chap*sticks [CHAHP-stihks] plural noun
A pair of thin, tapered sticks typically made of wood, ivory, or plastic that are used as eating utensils by most Asian cultures by holding them between the fingers and thumb of the hand, allowing one to grab food.

"I can eat with chapsticks!"

The fun part about how this book is put together is that you get the chance to look at the word and then read the definition and see if you can figure it out.  They never actually give you the "real" word.

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Alvin Zamudio is the author of this creative book and it uses illustrations drawn by his two children, Addison, and Mya.  He's currently collecting favorite sayings, mispronounced words, stories, and even parent's childhood memories for a second edition of his dictionary.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the current book will be donated to Mercy's Hope, an organization that supports orphans in Kenya.

Personally I enjoyed flipping through the pages and reading various entries.  It's one of those books where you sit by someone and every 30 seconds you say "hey, listen to this".  A very fun coffee table book or conversation starter.

Oh, and one of my friend Dahlia's submissions made the book!  Her son claimed his brother "has PB and J disorder", also known as TMJ!

This post was written for Family Review Network and Alvin Zamudio who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.