More than anything else, Daisy loves words. She loves reading books under the tree in her backyard, and making up new words with her best friend, Emma, on the way to school. Daisy even collects her favourite words in a special green notebook with purple polka dots. She keeps lists of quiet words, sweet words, and school words. She’s got words for discouraging times, and “wow” words for when she’s feeling excited.

Daisy is almost as fond of her teacher as she is of language. When Miss Goldner announces she will be moving away, Daisy wants to give her the perfect going-away present. And what could be more perfect than the perfect word?        

Finding just one perfect word turns out to be a challenge, but the search pays off in this charming chapter book for young readers by journalist Sandra V. Feder, who makes her debut here as a children’s author.   

Daisy is a spirited and engaging protagonist, and the novel maintains its focus on her, allowing her quest to direct the action. An appendix provides Daisy’s word lists and a shorter glossary of interesting words from the book, and offers a nice complement to the story.

Cheerful black-and-white illustrations by artist Susan Mitchell ease the transition from picture to chapter books.

Daisy’s attachment to her teacher will feel familiar to early grade-schoolers, and the story’s challenge and resultant search will hold young readers’ interest and introduce the fun of language-play, more of which will likely feature in upcoming instalments of a planned Daisy series.