You Talking to Me?: Discover the World of Words, Codes, Emojis, Signs, Slang, Smoke Signals, Barks, Babbles, Growls, Gestures, Hieroglyphics & More

Gr 3–7—In an attractively designed overview of linguistics for middle grade readers, Ham provides tidbits about speech, dialects, accents, body language, conversational faux pas, and more. A wide variety of topics are introduced, from tattoos to sound waves used by animals to communicate, but the presentation is brief. Words are randomly italicized, with only some identified in the glossary. The author is chatty and instructs readers not to make fun of people with different accents or customs, but the book is occasionally patronizing. Unusual conclusions, such as the explanation for why people from warmer climates use their hands to communicate more than those from colder climates do, are drawn without any citation of evidence. Some facts could have been fleshed out further; for instance, it's not clear why the thumbs-up sign is "an absolute no-no in some countries." The only indication of research is a paragraph of sources, including people (without credentials listed) and dictionaries.