A plague of locusts…
A pride of lions…
A flock of sheep…
But what do you call a collection of books about collective nouns?
A brilliance?
A giggle?
A talent?
When it comes to the set published by PatrickGeorge, all of the above could apply.
A filth of starlings, A drove of bullocks, A crackle of crickets and A shiver of sharks each take a themed set of collective nouns, illustrate them in witty and bold ways, a provide a paragraph of information about each animal in question. Part non-fiction book, part English-language/literacy book, part science book, part word-play book, each of these volumes is inventive and engaging.
Whether you are reading about a run of salmon, where an optical illusion allows the illustration to look both like a salmon’s head and a running shoe, or a culture of bacteria, where the contents of a petri dish looks like Mona Lisa, each page plays with our understanding of language and the way we look at objects.

The modern, bright illustrations are crisp, cool and clever. The text is informative and playful. Perfect for any kid who enjoys puns or animals, these bold books are fun for all.
With these books in mind the girls and I made our own volume of collective nouns:
We all enjoyed playing with language and sitting down simply drawing together.
Now, I’m delighted to say I have one set of all 4 books on collective nouns to give away to a lucky reader.
- (1) Tweet about this giveaway, perhaps using this text: Win a set of really clever & rather stylish books by @PatrickGeorge2 over at @playbythebook’s blog http://www.playingbythebook.net/?p=23269 #giveaway
- (2) Share this giveaway on your Facebook page or blog
You must leave a separate comment for each entry for them to count.
Good luck!
Stacey
While the books look lovely, I think the girl’s drawings are the best!
Stacey recently posted..My Life in Numbers
Rebecca
I love the snore of beds!
Laura
Brilliant – I love collective nouns!
My particular favourites are a murder of crows & a murmuration of starlings.
A collective noun for books about collective nouns could be a quirk or perhaps an education…?
Elli
These look fantastic – right up my street! And I love your girls’ invention nouns – a search of buttons and a pong of socks are particularly brilliant.
Elli recently posted..Nightmare
Sam
I agree with Stacey – the girls’ drawings look lovely. I particularly liked A Doorway of Books! The first thought that came to my mind was ‘A joy of books’ to reflect how I feel about them. π
Sam recently posted..Review: The Diabolical Mr Tiddles
Polly
Come on it MUST be my turn to win now. Isn’t it? Isn’t it?
x
a wallow of winnings is what I’m after
Polly recently posted..CHRISTMAS!!!
Katrina R
What fun books. π
gisele barcellos
yeah! We loved the girls drawings! And the books, too!
π
gisele barcellos recently posted..Bruxas, Beijos e outros encantos
gisele barcellos
On twitter: https://twitter.com/kidsindoors/statuses/276281026442063872
@kidsindoors
Have our finger crossed!
gisele barcellos recently posted..Bruxas, Beijos e outros encantos
Katherine Aitken
Fantastic Books. I love Patrick George.
Katherine Aitken
I tweeted as @mumoffunkids
https://twitter.com/mumoffunkids/status/276289925240979459
Katherine Aitken
Shared on facebook too! Thank you
Rosalind
My suggestion would be a thesaurus of books about collective nouns! Not terribly exciting, I’m afraid! This looks like a brilliant giveaway, am keeping everything crossed π
Rosalind recently posted..Reading at the table (and other book-related dilemmas)
Rosalind
I have tweeted about the giveaway too π
Rosalind recently posted..Reading at the table (and other book-related dilemmas)
rhythm
Haha! What great books! I like the illustrations on the books, and the girls pictures are fabulous!! How about a companion of books?
rhythm recently posted..An Ode to Jamie Wyeth, St. Gretta, and St. Alex
choxbox
When I started redaing this post I thought it wasthis book by Ruth Heller – http://www.amazon.com/Cache-Jewels-World-Language/dp/0698113543
One of our evergreen favourites!
As always loved your activity – will copy shamelessly!
Carmen Haselup
Brilliant! I love a search of buttons. Very inventive.
Carmen Haselup recently posted..Why did you steal my feminist pirates? An open letter to Egmont publishing
anna
the word which jumps to mind as a collective noun for books is a library of books
anna
tweeted @ummziyad
dominique
A snore of beds is brilliant!
Marjorie Bowman
A remembrance of books? 0_0
dawn
Delurking to say thanks for the great recommendation! This solves my dilemma of what to give my nieces and nephews for Christmas! A Bevy of Books!
sandhya
Fabulous! Loved the ‘snore of beds’!
sandhya recently posted..Of multicultural experiences and winnings
sandhya
Blogged about it.
sandhya recently posted..Of multicultural experiences and winnings
Gary Masskin
A “librariat” of collective noun books? A “collection”? A “township” or a “nounship”?
Gary Masskin recently posted..Time to get unbogged
Catherine
I love that you read these books and then made your own, what a great way to teach kids about language :o)
I’ve also tweeted your link.
Catherine recently posted..Boris Saves the Show by Carrie Weston
Erica Price
A huddle of blankets
Erica Price recently posted..The Gallery: Colour
Erica Price
Tweeted @ericahughes
Erica Price recently posted..The Gallery: Colour
Arundhati
Loved collective nouns as a schoolgirl (a long time ago!). Can’t wait to try this with my son π
A chest of books (not just ones about collective nouns, but any sort) is a treasure… whatever name you call it by, a pleasure for all the senses!
se7en
Oh what clever books!!! Our favourite collective noun has to be: a crash of rhino’s!!!
se7en recently posted..Christmas is Coming Really Slowly Around Here…
gisele barcellos
Thank you!!! \o/
So happy!!
π
gisele barcellos recently posted..Escola de Monstro Madame Mo