Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Perfect for your pre-schooler and beyond, 02 Apr 2008
I would happily recommend this set of books for even the youngest of children.

They are lovely and sturdy, with inset letter(s) on each page for your child to put their finger in and trace the shape, but most importantly they don't seem like an "educational" book to children! Even without focusing on the phonics element to the books, the pages are great fun to look at just for the pictures - there are recurring characters (eg a snake) which can be searched for on each page, and 2-4 pages at the rear of each book with exercises such as matching games, some with flaps to lift, which re-inforce the sounds covered in that book.

Because of these elements, my little girl (then aged 2) enjoyed looking at them just as much as my 4 year old son, who'd just started in reception class at school when I bought these 6 months ago to supplement his learning to read. My only wish is that I had bought them 2 years before when he was a pre-schooler, as it would have introduced the jolly phonics concepts that he is now learning at an earlier age.

Highly recommended to all.

Great Books, 12 Jan 2008
Both my children have learned to read using the jolly phonic system. These books are hardback so stay in good condition. They also go hand in hand with the work book set (worth buying at the same time). Price is very reasonable considering that reading is one of the best skills a child can have.

Great Learning Books!!, 03 Aug 2005
I am a big fan of these books. The series comes in a set of 7 books each with a small selection of different letters from the alphabet to learn. There are simple activities to do at the end of each book to round up what you have learnt. There are also cut out letter shapes to show little fingers the correct way to form each letter.
My 4 year old son has got on so well with these I was amazed. The actions that go with the sounds the letters make, (eg. pretend to puff out candles and say p,p,p,p. and Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.) turn this into a fun and memorable way of learning.
My son will be prepared for reading and spelling at school now and it's thanks to these books that he wants to learn. I would thoroughly recommend them.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Perfect for your pre-schooler and beyond, 02 Apr 2008
I would happily recommend this set of books for even the youngest of children.

They are lovely and sturdy, with inset letter(s) on each page for your child to put their finger in and trace the shape, but most importantly they don't seem like an "educational" book to children! Even without focusing on the phonics element to the books, the pages are great fun to look at just for the pictures - there are recurring characters (eg a snake) which can be searched for on each page, and 2-4 pages at the rear of each book with exercises such as matching games, some with flaps to lift, which re-inforce the sounds covered in that book.

Because of these elements, my little girl (then aged 2) enjoyed looking at them just as much as my 4 year old son, who'd just started in reception class at school when I bought these 6 months ago to supplement his learning to read. My only wish is that I had bought them 2 years before when he was a pre-schooler, as it would have introduced the jolly phonics concepts that he is now learning at an earlier age.

Highly recommended to all.

Great Books, 12 Jan 2008
Both my children have learned to read using the jolly phonic system. These books are hardback so stay in good condition. They also go hand in hand with the work book set (worth buying at the same time). Price is very reasonable considering that reading is one of the best skills a child can have.

Great Learning Books!!, 03 Aug 2005
I am a big fan of these books. The series comes in a set of 7 books each with a small selection of different letters from the alphabet to learn. There are simple activities to do at the end of each book to round up what you have learnt. There are also cut out letter shapes to show little fingers the correct way to form each letter.
My 4 year old son has got on so well with these I was amazed. The actions that go with the sounds the letters make, (eg. pretend to puff out candles and say p,p,p,p. and Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.) turn this into a fun and memorable way of learning.
My son will be prepared for reading and spelling at school now and it's thanks to these books that he wants to learn. I would thoroughly recommend them.

It's not by Peter brook..., 23 Aug 2008
... it's by the legendary Cis Berry and it's a damn good introduction to working with your voice even if you're not an actor. Full of practical ideas it's a great starting point, but do go on to Barbara Houseman afterwards.....

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Perfect for your pre-schooler and beyond, 02 Apr 2008
I would happily recommend this set of books for even the youngest of children.

They are lovely and sturdy, with inset letter(s) on each page for your child to put their finger in and trace the shape, but most importantly they don't seem like an "educational" book to children! Even without focusing on the phonics element to the books, the pages are great fun to look at just for the pictures - there are recurring characters (eg a snake) which can be searched for on each page, and 2-4 pages at the rear of each book with exercises such as matching games, some with flaps to lift, which re-inforce the sounds covered in that book.

Because of these elements, my little girl (then aged 2) enjoyed looking at them just as much as my 4 year old son, who'd just started in reception class at school when I bought these 6 months ago to supplement his learning to read. My only wish is that I had bought them 2 years before when he was a pre-schooler, as it would have introduced the jolly phonics concepts that he is now learning at an earlier age.

Highly recommended to all.

Great Books, 12 Jan 2008
Both my children have learned to read using the jolly phonic system. These books are hardback so stay in good condition. They also go hand in hand with the work book set (worth buying at the same time). Price is very reasonable considering that reading is one of the best skills a child can have.

Great Learning Books!!, 03 Aug 2005
I am a big fan of these books. The series comes in a set of 7 books each with a small selection of different letters from the alphabet to learn. There are simple activities to do at the end of each book to round up what you have learnt. There are also cut out letter shapes to show little fingers the correct way to form each letter.
My 4 year old son has got on so well with these I was amazed. The actions that go with the sounds the letters make, (eg. pretend to puff out candles and say p,p,p,p. and Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.) turn this into a fun and memorable way of learning.
My son will be prepared for reading and spelling at school now and it's thanks to these books that he wants to learn. I would thoroughly recommend them.

It's not by Peter brook..., 23 Aug 2008
... it's by the legendary Cis Berry and it's a damn good introduction to working with your voice even if you're not an actor. Full of practical ideas it's a great starting point, but do go on to Barbara Houseman afterwards.....

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Definitely worth a read, 25 Nov 2008
as a skint student i felt this book for a start was over priced for its small content, in many cases 1 word per page, however i was intrigued by the title as no boubt you are..

I wasnt quite sure what to expect, dissapointed at first i began to flick through the pages not really paying attention to its content, as i began to read an understand the meanings i found myself fascinated by the simple ideas regardin anagrams, or breaking up words to reveal contradictory words. for a small book, i find it the most picked up and talked about of my collection.

Worth a read.. and worth every penny..

For semantic mavens only, 28 Sep 2007
The Book Description above will give you a pretty good idea about the contents of this word-play book. Divided into these chapters: Contradictionary, Antigrams, Ambitexterity, Pleonasties, Antagonyms, Oxycretins and (sic)Note. Each gives examples of the (delightful) obfuscation the English language springs on the unwary and will probably take you less than ten minutes to read the 144 pages.

OK, I spent less than ten minutes reading it but surely the visual presentation will keep me occupied for longer? If only. Nearly all of the pages are designed in a very minimalist way, one typeface (17 point Gill Sans I fancy) and mostly in this size. Because so many of the examples are a word or two on each page there is plenty of empty space throughout the book. As the author is a designer I would have thought this would have been the ideal editorial format to have the contents displayed in a much more creative way. Herb Lubalin would have had such fun!

This is really the kind of item that a trendy ad boutique would give away as a Christmas keepsake to its clients rather than a book to buy.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.


A Pocket Full of Treats, 25 Apr 2007
As soon as this delightful little book emerged from its packaging, I delved straight into it and finished it in the same sitting. It's that good. And it's worth several re-reads, probably never getting outdated.
Very similar to 'Watching Words Move' - except that it not only looks at how typography can become imagery (McLuhan's idea that logos are not words but images) - but it also goes a little further and a lot deeper. Monachino explores the hidden ironies found within words that betray the essence of their meaning. (E.g. why do we say that noses 'run' but feet 'smell'? Why does the word 'believe' contain the word 'lie'?) All this is done using a plain font, a blank background, and the basic colours of red, black, and white.
It's too clever for words - just one long "Ah!" session from start to finish.
Should appeal to anyone interested in graphic design, anyone interested in language, or anyone with a sense of humour.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Perfect for your pre-schooler and beyond, 02 Apr 2008
I would happily recommend this set of books for even the youngest of children.

They are lovely and sturdy, with inset letter(s) on each page for your child to put their finger in and trace the shape, but most importantly they don't seem like an "educational" book to children! Even without focusing on the phonics element to the books, the pages are great fun to look at just for the pictures - there are recurring characters (eg a snake) which can be searched for on each page, and 2-4 pages at the rear of each book with exercises such as matching games, some with flaps to lift, which re-inforce the sounds covered in that book.

Because of these elements, my little girl (then aged 2) enjoyed looking at them just as much as my 4 year old son, who'd just started in reception class at school when I bought these 6 months ago to supplement his learning to read. My only wish is that I had bought them 2 years before when he was a pre-schooler, as it would have introduced the jolly phonics concepts that he is now learning at an earlier age.

Highly recommended to all.

Great Books, 12 Jan 2008
Both my children have learned to read using the jolly phonic system. These books are hardback so stay in good condition. They also go hand in hand with the work book set (worth buying at the same time). Price is very reasonable considering that reading is one of the best skills a child can have.

Great Learning Books!!, 03 Aug 2005
I am a big fan of these books. The series comes in a set of 7 books each with a small selection of different letters from the alphabet to learn. There are simple activities to do at the end of each book to round up what you have learnt. There are also cut out letter shapes to show little fingers the correct way to form each letter.
My 4 year old son has got on so well with these I was amazed. The actions that go with the sounds the letters make, (eg. pretend to puff out candles and say p,p,p,p. and Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.) turn this into a fun and memorable way of learning.
My son will be prepared for reading and spelling at school now and it's thanks to these books that he wants to learn. I would thoroughly recommend them.

It's not by Peter brook..., 23 Aug 2008
... it's by the legendary Cis Berry and it's a damn good introduction to working with your voice even if you're not an actor. Full of practical ideas it's a great starting point, but do go on to Barbara Houseman afterwards.....

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Definitely worth a read, 25 Nov 2008
as a skint student i felt this book for a start was over priced for its small content, in many cases 1 word per page, however i was intrigued by the title as no boubt you are..

I wasnt quite sure what to expect, dissapointed at first i began to flick through the pages not really paying attention to its content, as i began to read an understand the meanings i found myself fascinated by the simple ideas regardin anagrams, or breaking up words to reveal contradictory words. for a small book, i find it the most picked up and talked about of my collection.

Worth a read.. and worth every penny..

For semantic mavens only, 28 Sep 2007
The Book Description above will give you a pretty good idea about the contents of this word-play book. Divided into these chapters: Contradictionary, Antigrams, Ambitexterity, Pleonasties, Antagonyms, Oxycretins and (sic)Note. Each gives examples of the (delightful) obfuscation the English language springs on the unwary and will probably take you less than ten minutes to read the 144 pages.

OK, I spent less than ten minutes reading it but surely the visual presentation will keep me occupied for longer? If only. Nearly all of the pages are designed in a very minimalist way, one typeface (17 point Gill Sans I fancy) and mostly in this size. Because so many of the examples are a word or two on each page there is plenty of empty space throughout the book. As the author is a designer I would have thought this would have been the ideal editorial format to have the contents displayed in a much more creative way. Herb Lubalin would have had such fun!

This is really the kind of item that a trendy ad boutique would give away as a Christmas keepsake to its clients rather than a book to buy.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.


A Pocket Full of Treats, 25 Apr 2007
As soon as this delightful little book emerged from its packaging, I delved straight into it and finished it in the same sitting. It's that good. And it's worth several re-reads, probably never getting outdated.
Very similar to 'Watching Words Move' - except that it not only looks at how typography can become imagery (McLuhan's idea that logos are not words but images) - but it also goes a little further and a lot deeper. Monachino explores the hidden ironies found within words that betray the essence of their meaning. (E.g. why do we say that noses 'run' but feet 'smell'? Why does the word 'believe' contain the word 'lie'?) All this is done using a plain font, a blank background, and the basic colours of red, black, and white.
It's too clever for words - just one long "Ah!" session from start to finish.
Should appeal to anyone interested in graphic design, anyone interested in language, or anyone with a sense of humour.

Difficult to read but worth it, 09 Nov 2008
I've given this 4 stars, the content is probably worth 5 stars, but it is a bit of a nightmare to read.

If you are not familar with NLP then I would suggest reading something a little easier going, like one of the dummies books.

Good, but maybe not for self-study, 05 Jul 2008
The stated purpose of this book is to help people develop a Received Pronunciation (RP, popularly known as BBC English or the Queen's English). There has been a shift in recent years towards more tolerance in variation and RP is no longer held to be a golden standard, but those who really want to master this accent could do worse than this little book.

The substantive part of the book consists of 42 two-page chapters, each focusing on one particular sound or cluster of vowels. Each chapter begins with an illustration of how speech organs should be positioned, which I found quite helpful. After that there is a progression of examples supported by good-quality recordings: first the sound in isolation, then the sound in individual words, next in sentences and finally in small poems. According to the introductory notes, readers are expected to first listen to the sounds, then listen and repeat, and then record themselves, although it is not clear how these activities correspond to the examples in the book.

Language teachers will probably recognise the principles of the audiolingual method (ALM) which underpin the book. Despite the negative reflexes that this realisation might trigger, in my opinion this approach is not inappropriate to the limited task of developing a native-like accent: after all, the one area where the ALM seemed to work most effectively was in pronunciation training. On the negative side, such practice is better suited to the most dedicated learners, as others might lose interest fast.

A second, perhaps more valid, objection to the book is that is focuses too much on individual sounds, at the expense of longer stretches of sound. It seems that this book could be usefully supplemented by sections dealing with supra-segmental elements of pronunciation, such as stress, intonation (the rising and falling of pitch), connected speech, rate of delivery etc. This limitation is partially addressed by the provision for sentences and verses which the reader will probably have to repeat carefully, but I suspect that many users will need more help than that in order to sound natural.

In summary, I believe that this is a useful book and it is obvious that it was carefully written. As a self-study resource, it might prove very useful to experienced language learners, or well-motivated native speakers who want to address specific problems in their pronunciation. In all other cases, it would probably function better as a textbook in a pronunciation course, where an experienced teacher would be available to address some of its limitations.

beatrice, 14 Jun 2008
This book is good.
Although I doubt if it is possible at all to get rid of an accent- this book shows you very clearly how to pronunce English phonems. If you fail to sound correctly- it is only the matter of your ability to copy the sounds. If you can copy exactly like it is on CDs - you can really achieve the success and get rid of your accent!
I am in the middle. I have learned a lot, but experience difficulty in using the proper sounds in my daily spoken English.
But I will keep practicising. And I also bought "English Pronounciation in Use. Advanced" which is nicely combining with "Get Rid of.." as it consists of lots of short stories and sentences spoken in English - giving you a view on how spoken language should look like.(i got the version with 5 audio CDs -£28).
Get Rid of your accent is a valuable position for all learning how to speak quality English.

Russian interpreter working in the UK, 12 Dec 2007
Being a Russian interpreter I found it difficult when I came to London and started looking for books to help me with my pronunciation. I was surprised to find only a few books, most of which were not what I was looking for.

When I saw "Get Rid of your Accent" it was like finding a treasure.

I particularly liked the fact that every English sound was dealt with in a separate chapter. There were many exercises for me to practice and repeat. I was charmed by the sentences, rhymes and poems. This is what really appealed to me. It was fun but at the same time very effective; and it works! Also the CDs were particularly helpful for me to copy.


Immensely useful book, 10 Dec 2007
As a diplomat I need effective communication skills, particularly to address public audiences through radio and TV. A clear, crisp accent is always more convincing than a thick, foreign one. I am reading this book and I think it is immensely useful for foreigners like myself.

It is just nothing special..., 05 Nov 2007
I am dissapointeed that the book consists of very few new special idea compared to most of the pronunciation and speech training references.

Half of the content of the 140 pages discusses phonetics, and most of the other parts talks about the differences in pronunciation between some easily confused word like ship or sheep, and or end. However, it rarely mentions something about the skills on how to speak in standard English fluently and naturally such as weakening of sound, which is very important to the Chinese, especially for the Cantonese-speaking Chinese like me.

And compared to the other books teaching phonetics like Pronunciation in Uses by the Cambridge University, this book, with less words but with some photos (some are not related to pronuncaition but the content of examples), is easier to be understood but provides much less examples and exercise. The book does not focus much on theory. It tries to illustrate the ideas through examples and diagrams (diagrams of lip and cross section of mouth cavity). And please notice that this book is written in the way like notes (but not in point form). So, for those who hate reading a lot of words might like the presentation of this book. Because of this, this book, comparatively, COULD BE a better teaching material for children according to my personal experience in teaching young children English pronunciation.

To me, the book is over-priced. Please do consider seriously before buying the book. If you were a beginner or a child learner of phonetics, this book would be recommandable.

Check the contents, 07 Apr 2008
I love this product, BUT I had to send it back 3 times before I actually got a complete package with all the sounds. So the product gets 5 starts, the quality control for the packing gets 1 star.

Worth the money, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this along with the teachers handbook and the workbooks and I'm pleased I did. Everytime we learn a new letter we stick it up on the kitchen wall and use it as a reminder throughout the day / week.

A must, 27 Nov 2002
If you use the Jolly Phonics scheme (and if not, why not? You really should, you know!) then this frieze is an absolute must. Displaying all the letters and digraphs taught in an eye catching but clear manner that can be displayed any way you wish - as a long line, blocked together as a poster... My class love the pictures, and more importantly, actually USE it to help them in their work.

Vibrant visual aid for early letter sound learners, 14 Feb 2002
My son (4 yrs old, just started at school) was struggling to learn his phonic letter sounds. This wall frieze has helped enormously. We have put it up in his bedroom. The pictures are colourful reminders of how the letter sounds (rather than what a letter is called). Both upper and lower case letters are shown. An extremely useful tool to enhance early learning at home from the classroom.

Perfect for your pre-schooler and beyond, 02 Apr 2008
I would happily recommend this set of books for even the youngest of children.

They are lovely and sturdy, with inset letter(s) on each page for your child to put their finger in and trace the shape, but most importantly they don't seem like an "educational" book to children! Even without focusing on the phonics element to the books, the pages are great fun to look at just for the pictures - there are recurring characters (eg a snake) which can be searched for on each page, and 2-4 pages at the rear of each book with exercises such as matching games, some with flaps to lift, which re-inforce the sounds covered in that book.

Because of these elements, my little girl (then aged 2) enjoyed looking at them just as much as my 4 year old son, who'd just started in reception class at school when I bought these 6 months ago to supplement his learning to read. My only wish is that I had bought them 2 years before when he was a pre-schooler, as it would have introduced the jolly phonics concepts that he is now learning at an earlier age.

Highly recommended to all.

Great Books, 12 Jan 2008
Both my children have learned to read using the jolly phonic system. These books are hardback so stay in good condition. They also go hand in hand with the work book set (worth buying at the same time). Price is very reasonable considering that reading is one of the best skills a child can have.

Great Learning Books!!, 03 Aug 2005
I am a big fan of these books. The series comes in a set of 7 books each with a small selection of different letters from the alphabet to learn. There are simple activities to do at the end of each book to round up what you have learnt. There are also cut out letter shapes to show little fingers the correct way to form each letter.
My 4 year old son has got on so well with these I was amazed. The actions that go with the sounds the letters make, (eg. pretend to puff out candles and say p,p,p,p. and Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of breath and say h,h,h,h.) turn this into a fun and memorable way of learning.
My son will be prepared for reading and spelling at school now and it's thanks to these books that he wants to learn. I would thoroughly recommend them.

It's not by Peter brook..., 23 Aug 2008
... it's by the legendary Cis Berry and it's a damn good introduction to working with your voice even if you're not an actor. Full of practical ideas it's a great starting point, but do go on to Barbara Houseman afterwards.....

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor., 29 Dec 1998
Ciss Berry is acting

Definitely worth a read, 25 Nov 2008
as a skint student i felt this book for a start was over priced for its small content, in many cases 1 word per page, however i was intrigued by the title as no boubt you are..

I wasnt quite sure what to expect, dissapointed at first i began to flick through the pages not really paying attention to its content, as i began to read an understand the meanings i found myself fascinated by the simple ideas regardin anagrams, or breaking up words to reveal contradictory words. for a small book, i find it the most picked up and talked about of my collection.

Worth a read.. and worth every penny..

For semantic mavens only, 28 Sep 2007
The Book Description above will give you a pretty good idea about the contents of this word-play book. Divided into these chapters: Contradictionary, Antigrams, Ambitexterity, Pleonasties, Antagonyms, Oxycretins and (sic)Note. Each gives examples of the (delightful) obfuscation the English language springs on the unwary and will probably take you less than ten minutes to read the 144 pages.

OK, I spent less than ten minutes reading it but surely the visual presentation will keep me occupied for longer? If only. Nearly all of the pages are designed in a very minimalist way, one typeface (17 point Gill Sans I fancy) and mostly in this size. Because so many of the examples are a word or two on each page there is plenty of empty space throughout the book. As the author is a designer I would have thought this would have been the ideal editorial format to have the contents displayed in a much more creative way. Herb Lubalin would have had such fun!

This is really the kind of item that a trendy ad boutique would give away as a Christmas keepsake to its clients rather than a book to buy.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.


A Pocket Full of Treats, 25 Apr 2007
As soon as this delightful little book emerged from its packaging, I delved straight into it and finished it in the same sitting. It's that good. And it's worth several re-reads, probably never getting outdated.
Very similar to 'Watching Words Move' - except that it not only looks at how typography can become imagery (McLuhan's idea that logos are not words but images) - but it also goes a little further and a lot deeper. Monachino explores the hidden ironies found within words that betray the essence of their meaning. (E.g. why do we say that noses 'run' but feet 'smell'? Why does the word 'believe' contain the word 'lie'?) All this is done using a plain font, a blank background, and the basic colours of red, black, and white.
It's too clever for words - just one long "Ah!" session from start to finish.
Should appeal to anyone interested in graphic design, anyone interested in language, or anyone with a sense of humour.

Difficult to read but worth it, 09 Nov 2008
I've given this 4 stars, the content is probably worth 5 stars, but it is a bit of a nightmare to read.

If you are not familar with NLP then I would suggest reading something a little easier going, like one of the dummies books.

Much needed text on early communication development., 27 Nov 2000
This is one of the few publications on early communication development which actually manages to succesfully combine practical knowledge and experience with theoretical findings. With a host of practical suggestions for observation, assessment and intervention with pre-verbal children, this is a useful book for teachers, Speech & Language Therapists and others working with adults and children in a range of setting. There is a useful description of the PVCS (PreVerbal Communication Schedule) - on of teh most widely used preverbal assessments. There is also information on the Pragamatics Profile, Affective Communication Assessment and Early Communication Assessment. In addition to in-depth discussion on pre-intentional and early formal communication skills, the second edition of this book goes further to provide suggestions for development of early concepts and language functions. After reading this, I found that my approach to developing preverbal children's communication changed...for the better. An inexpensive but highly useful book.