Nominated by: Nancy Tandon

Finalist blurb: Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk starts out as a history of the Globe Theatre, but ends up as a witty introduction to the wordplay of the Bard. Author Jane Sutcliffe organizes her text into a narrative snapshot of Elizabethan London centered around the playgoers at the Globe, but into this structure, she layers facts about Shakespeare's plays and details about the time period. Each time the author uses a phrase which William Shakespeare originated or popularized, it appears in bold print. Sidebars containing Will's words, their meaning, and how they're used in his plays, invite readers to further investigation. The story is bookended by author's notes. The back matter includes a timeline of Shakespeare's life and extensive bibliography. Sutcliffe subtly demonstrates how a living language evolves and how popular media stimulates that change. The text's jaunty rhythm is infused with humor. She introduces the origins of the "wild-goose chase", explains what it means to get your "money's worth", and how "too much of a good thing" (like gummy worms) does not lead to our "heart's content." John Shelley's illustrations pair lively ink lines with jewel tone watercolors reminiscent of stained glass. His accurately detailed drawings switch point of view, first high above the city, then down in the Pit with the commoners, from intricate backstage dressing rooms to scenes of bustling London looking like a page from Where's Waldo. The author shows how a heavy subject, handled lightly, can connect with modern readers. While she planned to write the history of one place and time, she instead accomplishes the remarkable task of making kids notice and care about words. And that's the short and the long of it.