Donavan's Word Jar [Hardcover]

Monalisa Degross (Author), Cheryl Hanna (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

When the jar that Donavan keeps his word collection in fills up, he finds a special way to give his words away and get something wonderful in return.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This meager, sluggish story centers on Donavan, a boy who collects words. Every time he sees a new word--on a billboard, a cereal box, a store sign, etc.--he writes it down on a slip of paper and puts it into a jar. When the jar becomes filled to capacity, Donavan has a big dilemma. His mother recommends he find a larger container and his teacher suggests he compile his own dictionary, but Donavan rejects both ideas. Visiting his grandmother to ask her advice, Donavan forgets his word jar in the lounge of her apartment building. When he returns to the lounge, he finds a group of senior citizens removing bits of paper from the jar and reading aloud the words, which, rather incredibly, make everyone instantly happy. Deciding he'll start a new collection right away, Donavan concludes, "It would be fun finding new ways to give his words away." Though clearly well-intentioned, DeGross's story makes much ado about very little. Illustrations not seen by PW . Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-A gentle, thoughtful story of a young African-American boy's discovery of the power of words. Each time a word strikes Donavan as special (e.g., extraterrestrial, orchestral, perseverance, boisterous), he writes it down on a slip of paper and puts it in a jar. When his collection no longer fits in its container, he asks several people (Mom, his teacher, Dad, Grandma) what to do, but in a serendipitous way comes upon the solution himself. While visiting his Grandma, the other senior citizens in her building find that reading the words they pull from the jar is just what they need to cheer them up, and Donavan realizes the pleasure of sharing. While this book is not a fast-paced page-turner, the 10 chapters are short, and an appealing black-and-white illustration appears in each one. This title builds readers' vocabulary in a palatable way, and could be used in conjunction with a lesson on using the dictionary.
Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 71 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books; 1st edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060201908
• ISBN-13: 978-0060201906
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,978,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I do with all my words?, September 22, 2008

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Donavan's Word Jar (Trophy Chapter Book) (Paperback)

A long time ago AT&T created a print advertisement that said: Communication is the beginning of understanding." This slogan anticipates the conclusion of "Donavan's Word Jar." Let's flashback to the beginning of the story.

Donavan is a third-grader. Just like everyone else in his class, Donavan is a collector. While they collect tangible things like baseball cards, ad buttons, stamps, and marbles, Donavan collects words. He finds them (the first is Nutrition from a cereal box), writes them on a yellow slips of paper in purple ink, and keeps them in a glass jar. He finds new words everywhere: storefronts, billboards, a sign in a parade, and from people talking on the sidewalk, on television, on the bus, everywhere.

One day his jar is so full, he has difficulty closing it. After asking his teacher, his father, and his mother how to solve his problem, he decides to take the question to his grandmother who lives in an apartment house for the elderly not too far from his house.

The solution comes in the most unexpected way. People take his words! But good comes out of good and communication is the beginning of understanding. Giving and sharing help open up communication. I would love to tell you how this works, but the ending is so delightful, I feel telling you would be a spoiler.

This chapter book makes a perfect gift for a child who shows any inclination towards reading or words. Maybe you could set up a Word Center with a jar, slips of paper, a pen or pencil, and a dictionary. Definitely a teacher could use this book as a class reading project with each child keeping a Word Jar. There's too much magic in words to let this book slip by under-utilized. A very definite keeper.

You might start with "logophile" or "logophilia."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every second grader should read this book., October 30, 1999

By 

Erin Laddison (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Donavan's Word Jar (Trophy Chapter Book) (Paperback)

This book is good because it was easy to read and it was interesting and fun. She is a very talented writer. I hope she writes more good chapter books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good idea not engaging though, September 11, 2009

By 

S. R. Jones (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Donavan's Word Jar (Trophy Chapter Book) (Paperback)

I like the message of the book. I read this book with my 3rd and 4th grade literature group. We struggled to get through the book. THey were just not interested in it. So although the message is good, the book is not really interesting.