This book is about an island off the shores of the USA in which the population is proud of their love of language and linguistic abilities. In the middle of the island stands a monument dedicated to Nevin Nollop, the (fictional) author of the sentence "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog" which is spelled out in tiles on the monument. (Anyone who is over a certain age and has taken a typing class will recognize this sentence as it contains of the letters contained in the English Language and is often used for typing practice.)
One day a young girl walks by the monument and discovers that one of the tiles has fallen off - the letter Z which she quickly delivers it to the Offices of the High Island Council. The council members come to the conclusion that this fallen letter is a message from the deceased Nevin Nollop to exclude the letter from any further communication within the island. Within a few days the council has issued an edict that letter Z has been banned from use in both writing and speaking. Furthermore, if a citizen is caught using the letter there are increasingly dire consequences including public humiliation, standing in the stocks or being flogged, and finally expulsion from the island or death.
Losing a letter is not such a terrible fate - it is only the letter Z which is hardly used. Unfortunately, over the course of the next few months, more and more tiles fall off of the monument until there are very few letters left and language becomes increasingly restricted. Life becomes more and more difficult.
This is a playful book that is a lot of fun. The entire book is written in letters from one citizen to the next. I found myself seeking banned letters. Feeling sorry for the citizens. And hoping for a miracle and a resolution to the problem.
This book is going in my backpack to school on Monday and will be entered into the collection. It is an older book (2001) but so much fun.
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