Granted, Dr. Seuss worked miracles using limited vocabulary to create
The Cat in the Hat and other classics, but there's something to be said for authors who aren't afraid to deploy difficult words when writing for children. My favorite example comes from an early practitioner of the picture book, Beatrix Potter. In her
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, she famously begins:
"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is soporific."
Now
soporific is quite the word to chew on, and I suspect that many adults aren't exactly sure of its meaning. Luckily, Potter was at heart a reading specialist because in her next two sentences she provides a context clue and then repeats the unfamiliar word, reinforcing its meaning.
"I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuce; but then I am not a rabbit. They certainly had a very soporific effect on the Flopsy Bunnies!"
Bravo, Ms. Potter!
Another master of the picture book, Tomi Ungerer, liberally sprinkles his prose with challenging words. One of my favorite of his books,
The Beast of Monsieur Racine, contains the following words:
secluded, predator, marauder, cavalry, cuirass, avenger, frolicked, conglomerate, meticulous, and
amphitheater. In an interview, Ungerer had the following to say about his decision not to talk down to young readers: "I think children have to be respected. They understand the world, in their way. They understand adult language. There should not be a limit of vocabulary. In
The Three Robbers I don't use the word
gun. I say
blunderbuss. My goodness, isn't it more poetic?"
Yes, Mr. Ungerer, it certainly is.
