Review: Handy English Encoder Decoder

"I before E, except after C, and in words like 'neighbour' and 'weigh.'" How many of us have never been helped out of a grammatical pickle by that old and proven rule? Spelling rules, and their close cousins, phonics rules, can be a real help to those who struggle with spelling. Unfortunately, not every spelling rule is couched in a cute little rhyme, nor have they been easy to find... until now.

Harvey Bluedorn has put together a very helpful little book, the "Handy English Encoder Decoder," which collects spelling and phonics rules in one place, arranges them neatly and logically, and gives us all a hand up when it comes to spelling. The book also includes a couple of games, a long list of homophones (words that sound alike but look different), and that most invaluable of spelling lists: "Commonly Confused Spellings and Word Pairs."

I look forward to referencing the Encoder Decoder in the upcoming school year. Recommended for homeschool teachers, students, and English geeks like me who just really like to know this stuff, and appreciate any reference book that's small enough to fit in your average purse.