{"id":45341,"date":"2025-12-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=45341"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:34:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:34:28","slug":"manns-pictorial-dictionary-death-is-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/manns-pictorial-dictionary-death-is-stupid\/","title":{"rendered":"Mann\u2019s Pictorial Dictionary \/ Death is Stupid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MANN\u2019S PICTORIAL DICTIONARY AND CYCLOPEDIA \u2013 THE MOST MISCELLANEOUS MISCELLANY OUT THERE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Mann\u2019s Pictorial Dictionary and Cyclopedia Vol. 1<\/em>
National Library Publications
1960, 240 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the different parts of a knife called? How about the parts of a plough? Does anyone know what kind of mousetrap this is? What do Eskimo ice scrapers look like? I\u2019ve got this chrysalis here \u2014 what kind of butterfly or moth will emerge from it? Can anyone show me the difference between a bath tap and a double flexible tube cock? How about a White Persian versus a Manx? How did the piano evolve? What kind of ship is that sailing out of the harbor?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these questions and a ridiculously large number more are answered in Mann\u2019s Pictoral Dictionary and Cyclopedia<\/em>, 240 pages of the most miscellaneous miscellany out there. Each page poses a not-entirely-naturally-worded question at the top, then answers it with illustrations. If we believe the foreword of this 1960 edition, the original book was found in a bombed-out library in England shortly after WWII. One illustration shows a woman\u2019s hairstyle from 1920, while another list, \u201cTo Which Country in the British Empire Does That Badge Belong?\u201d includes Kenya and Gold Cost which, if I know my British history (note: I do not), suggests the book was published sometime between 1920-1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d owned this book for several years before I realized that the pages are not random, they\u2019re alphabetical (as long as you can figure out what category the page has been classified under, which is not always clear). This leads to delightful transitions like going from cat\u2019s cradle games, to cattle breeds, to oak chairs, or from \u201cWhat Bible Fruit is That?\u201d to \u201cExamples of British Game Birds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British dial is set to 11. \u201cWhat is the Name of That Sedge? The Chief Species Growing in Britain\u201d is a two-page spread on grasses. \u201cWhat is the Meaning of Those Badges Worn by the Boy Scouts?\u201d asks another page. \u201cWhich British Owl is That?\u201d \u2014 it turns out that \u201cTen owls are found wild in England, and by means of these drawings it will be possible to identify any owl that may be seen.\u201d Identify your raptors with confidence, Britain! It\u2019s out of print, but used copies can be found at the link above. \u2013 Sara Lorimer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DEATH IS STUPID TALKS STRAIGHT TO KIDS ABOUT A TOPIC MOST GROWN-UPS STRUGGLE WITH<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Death is Stupid<\/em>
by Anastasia Higginbotham
The Feminist Press at CUNY
2016, 64 pages, 8.5 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is Stupid<\/em> does what so many grown-ups struggle to do with their kids. It tells them the truth that they already know. In collages of illustrations and dialogue, Anastasia Higginbotham walks readers through the confusion and questions that come when someone dies. Using two concurrent narratives, one that broadly voices and validates the feelings and fears kids have around death, the other focusing on a little boy whose grandmother has died, Higginbotham masterfully draws connections for young audiences and their grown-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story opens, gracefully straight-forward, \u201cWhen a loved one dies people can say some stupid things.\u201d The line stretches over the course of three pages in which the boy goes from surprised to sad as he hears, \u201cI know exactly how you feel.\u201c \u201cDon\u2019t cry.\u201d \u201cJust be grateful for the time you had with her.\u201d We follow him through the funeral and days after, through the rituals of grief and remembrance, through the fumbling adult attempts to explain and comfort. Through his experience and the narrator\u2019s staccato interjections (\u201cDying is not a punishment. But it mostly doesn\u2019t feel fair.\u201d), readers are given the space to explore the well-intentioned answers and advice that grown-ups pat into the palms and shoulders of the kids they love, and the ways in which those hugs and kisses can land like blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as the boy tries out different ways to stay connected to his grandma while accepting her death, like caring for her garden, readers can explore suggested activities at the back of the book. Higginbotham offers templates for personalized remembering of both pets and people, simple instructions (\u201cRead what they read. Make what they made.\u201d), and the loveliest reflection on the power of speaking someone\u2019s name. I know that when we are inevitably grieving a loved one\u2019s death, I will be grateful to have this book on hand to read with my daughter. \u2013 Mk Smith Despres<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Books That Belong On Paper<\/strong>\u00a0first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair.<\/em>\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get the issues a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue No. 98<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[31],"tags":[2398],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45341"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45362,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45341\/revisions\/45362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}