Customer Reviews

The Boy Who Loved Words

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

My favorite word is "moot". It fulfills all the necessary requirements of a favorite word. It is fun to say. It is fun to slip into a conversation. And when you pair it with the word "point" (as in "moot point") it becomes doubly amusing. I tell you all this because as much as I love my word, I never thought that I had collected it. I remembered it, sure, but collected? Who collects words? How would that even work? The answer comes in the form of Roni Schotter's newest picture book sensation, "The Boy Who Loved Words". A tribute to the beauty of words (to say nothing of the people who employ them) the book utilizes Schotter's storytelling and Giselle Potter's wholly recognizable style to tell the tale of a boy and his penchant for ear-pleasing assonance.

Now there once was a boy named Selig who had two dual loves. First of all, he loved words. He loved how they sounded in his ears and fell off the tongue. Second, he loved collecting. And what better to collect than the thing you love best? Problem was, Selig started getting bogged down by the sheer weight of the words he carried with him. One day, after receiving a dream telling him to find his purpose in life, Selig goes off into the world. He hasn't gone far before he starts pinning the words in his pack onto the branches of the nearest tree. Before long a poet stops by and through sheer accident happen to pluck exactly the word he needs from the wind-swept tree's branches. Suddenly, Selig knows what he was born to do. What good are words if they sit around unused? By lobbing the right words in the right direction, Selig is able to improve the fortune of others. And by locating a gal with as great a gift for music as he has for syllables, Selig is perfectly content thereafter.

Can I be forgiven for thinking this book was a non-fiction biography when I first picked it up? It kind of looks like one, doesn't it? Even after reading a couple of pages I was convinced that this book was some kind of picture book retelling of a real poet's life. Yeah, not so much. Schotter, best known before now to my mind for, "Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street" has tapped into an interesting idea here. Words. The playthings of poets, writers, and critics alike. I'll confess that this book can be seen as an acquired taste. Some kids will need to take some time so as to fully understand what it is that Schotter is saying here. As she deftly mixes a kind of magical realism with her otherwise realistic plotline, "The Boy Who Loves Words", is going to resonate best with those kids that already understand how cool words can be. They'll be the ones who flip to the back of the book and devour greedily the Glossary of Selig's favorite words sitting there. The story is certainly amusing, but unless the reader has a clear sense of how cool words can be, it may well fly over their heads.

Giselle Potter was an ideal illustrator to pair with Schotter on this tale. Once you've seen Potter's work, you don't forget it. Moreover, she's a perfect complement to the author's gentle loonyness. The words in this book are actual printed scraps that float and fly around Selig's head like so many beautiful butterflies, just begging to be caught. I was more than a little intrigued by the Rabbi genie that appears to Selig in a dream. Scotter and Potter (saying their names together fast) between them have placed this book in a kind of Lower East Side New York (or perhaps it's Brooklyn). If Selig is Jewish then of course the genie would be speaking with a Yiddish accent. I don't know exactly when or where the book is taking place, but wherever it is it makes for an enjoyable ride.

Though not a book for everyone, "The Boy Who Loved Words" is a contemporary up-and-coming writer title. Which is to say, future wordsmiths will find comfort in Selig's tale and maybe be convinced to start collecting their own eclectic terms. In Selig's own vocabulary you can label this book savory, full of gusto, truly luscious, and tremendously spry.

As both a middle school English teacher and the mother of two children (34 months and 14 months), I loved this book...at this point I have read it to my son about 30 times in a row because he is fascinated with it. Selig uses great words to ellaborate on his thoughts, feelings, and actions. This book has enhnaced my son's vocabulary (he used the word tintabullating the other day) and my sixth graders also throw some of the words around. Along with the great words comes a great story with a rich plot, which is not always the case with children's books. The illustrations could be better, but I love the way the words are all over the pages.

As a teacher I purchased this book for use in my fourth grade classroom. I would have to say that this book utilizes some mighty big words. However I also feel that it it is great for vocabulary development.

This kid named Selig gets nicknamed Wordsworth at school by kids who call him an oddball, but he eventually goes on his quest and grows into the name. I just didn't get the appeal of a lot of Wordsworth's favorite words. "Jibber-jabber" I can see, but "melted"? "Hit"? "Shoes"? Maybe the author wanted to include words that kids of different ages can read, but it would have been better if some reasons for his choices had been given - the sound, the meaning, "the perfect word for the occasion," or whatever. I did enjoy when he threw bickering words down on the arguing neighbors, then kindly words after they grew still, and the illustrations of arguing people turning cheerful and cooperative. It was regrettable that nobody introduced Wordsworth to the pleasures of the dictionary.

The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter is a must have book to inspire struggling writers. It is a perfect addition to a teacher's collection of literature books to demonstrate the 6 Traits of writing.

As a school librarian, I have certain shticks that I utilize as the occasions arise. Today as a group of fourth graders burst, vaulted, ran, stormed and catapulted into the library where I was subbing, I deployed my standard entreaty to "amble, saunter, meander, mosey, roam, walk, dally, wander, perambulate, drift, or stroll but PLEASE do NOT run!"

Roni Schotter echoes my own affection for lovely words in The Boy Who Loved Words. Giselle Potter's illustrations have an whimsical Chagall-like quality as the boy decorates a tree with his favorite words. The book includes an abundance, a profusion, a plethora, and a heap of language that will expand, enlarge, embellish and enrich the word choices of all readers.

I adore this book. I am a 4th grade teacher, and I read this book to my class. They were intrigued with the variety of words presented. The author offers a glossary for a greater understanding of the words. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read or teaches writing.

This book belongs in every elementary classroom in America! This book is one of the funniest children's books I have ever read. The way in which the author introduces words and how to use them is indescribable in this short review. This book is FUN, creative, imaginative, and a thrill to read.

Enjoyed how the typed ransom style words were scattered on the page to add to the illustrations. As a teacher, I can think of many games to play during english period while incorporating this book. There is also a dictionary on the last two pages explaining a few of the big words, which I myself had to use. I appreciated Selig's passion for words and like Selig, can't wait to find the next fun word to use in my stories or in conversation. The book is very wordy itself, sometimes confusing and not suitable for young children.
This book should come with word fridge magnets!

I looked at this book at a bookstore in February. I read it and didn't buy it because I thought that no two-year-old would like it. I was wrong. We found it in the libary a month or two ago and checked it out. It quickly became the must-read bedtime story for my daughter. She turns three in two weeks and she's receiving her very own copy for her birthday! She thinks it's the coolest book!