- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Art & Creativity
The Dictionary Story
A playful, visually inventive picture book about a dictionary that wants to tell a story and accidentally unleashes word-chaos. It is a strong choice for children who enjoy language, alphabet books, meta-stories and Oliver Jeffers' visual wit.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length56 pp
- Read aloud~11 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Literary
- Repetitive
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Whimsical
- Absurdist
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Dictionary is tired of simply defining words. She wants to tell a story like the other books. So she decides to bring her words to life, which sounds wonderful until all the characters, objects and ideas collide in a spectacular jumble. The result is a playful, chaotic and visually rich celebration of language, made by Sam Winston and Oliver Jeffers after their acclaimed collaboration A Child of Books. The book treats words as physical, lively things that can escape, argue, mix and surprise their creator. It is funny enough for young children, but also clever enough for adults who enjoy book-about-books concepts and typographic play. Because it combines story, design and vocabulary, it sits especially well in a recommendation space for children who love drawing, letters, making stories or noticing how words work.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Wordplay
- Book about books
- Visual design
- Alphabet interest
- Creative children
Avoid if
- Wants linear story
- Prefers realistic stories
- Dislikes meta books
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in art and creativity
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
In the classroom
How it works in school.
An inventive picture book where dictionary words spill into a story — a playful prompt for vocabulary and children's own storytelling.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the chaos — a dictionary tired of just defining words deciding to tell a story, the characters and objects and ideas she calls up colliding in a spectacular jumble. The Winston / Jeffers picture book that treats words as physical living things.
- Trickery and cleverness
- Making a difference
- Transformation
Why parents love it
The Sam Winston / Oliver Jeffers follow-up to A Child of Books — typographic play, book-about-books concept, clever enough for adults and accessible enough for young children. Strong for letters / drawing / story-making kids.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Shared humour
- Educational for adult too
- Great writing
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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