Cryptomania!: Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the Cryptokids
Grade 4-6–When Zander wins a mysterious contest, he receives a stuffed dinosaur and a kit to build a Teleporter. He and his friends are invited to help Blue Dino get home, and to "discover the key to unlocking new worlds." After building the Teleporter, they transport themselves to various places and historical eras, such as "The Classical World," "Tech Town," and "Mathopolis." At each stop, they find clues about how to help Blue Dino and also get information about Latin and Greek etymology to assist them with their vocabulary homework assignment. By journey's end, they have discovered the key to finding new worlds and words: curiosity. Each spread features vivid cartoon artwork, dialogue bubbles, and a cameo portrait of Zander with a short narration that moves the plot along. Each time the CryptoKids explore a new location, they receive a list of relevant word roots and affixes. Children will relate to the nonlinear presentation and will pore over the pages to make sure they have not missed any details. The extensive glossary/index lists word roots and affixes featured in the text along with their meanings, with Greek word "chunks" in green typeface and Latin in red. Another index presents the same information with the English words as the main entries. A delightful, educational book that makes vocabulary fun.–Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.