The Word Collector

by Peter H. Reynolds

Overview

From the beloved bestselling creator of The Dot and our own Happy Dreamer comes an inspiring story about the transformative and profound power of words.

A New York Times BestsellerNamed an Outstanding Literary Work for Children by the NAACPSome people collect stamps. Some people collect coins. Some people collect art. And Jerome? Jerome collected words . . . In this extraordinary new tale from Peter H. Reynolds, Jerome discovers the magic of the words all around him — short and sweet words, two-syllable treats, and multisyllable words that sound like little songs. Words that connect, transform, and empower.From the creator of The Dot, I Am Human, and Happy Dreamer comes a celebration of finding your own words — and the impact you can have when you share them with the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545865029
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/30/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	17,147
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

PETER H. REYNOLDS is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many books for children, including Happy Dreamer, The Word Collector, Say Something!, Be You!, and Our Table. He is also the illustrator of When Thing Aren't Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni. His books have been translated into over 25 languages around the globe and are celebrated worldwide. In 1996, he founded FableVision with his brother, Paul, as a social change agency to help create "stories that matter, stories that move." He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, with his family.

Editorial Reviews

In Jerome's quest to spread the beauty of language, the story acquires the timeless, classic quality of Leo Lionni's tale of Frederick the mouse.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

Praise for The Word Collector: A New York Times Bestseller Named an Outstanding Literary Work for Children by the NAACP"Peter H. Reynolds always manages to walk a delicate line with his books - make that a couple lines: weighty but not weighed down. Universal yet kid-centric. No easy feat."-Travis Jonker, School Library Journal "Capture[s] the beauty of words and the wonder of sharing them with others...enchanting." —Kirkus"[P]acks a powerful punch...capture[s] both the joy of learning and the power of kindness." —School Library JournalPraise for Happy Dreamer:"The message of acceptance and patience comes through clearly, and the exhortation to 'carve your own path' and 'show the world who you are' will be appreciated by anyone who has ever felt misunderstood." — Booklist"Celebrates individuality, self-expression, and the joys of being a dreamer . . . a liberating validation of dreaming as restorative, comforting, and powerful, while giving kids full license to be themselves." — Publishers Weekly"A sweet gift to praise spirited individuality, this choice encourages readers to dream big. Let those sparkles fly!" — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for The Dot:* "Simplicity itself, like the dot in the title, this small book carries a big message." — Booklist, starred review* "In this engaging, inspiring tale, Reynolds (illustrator of the Judy Moody series) demonstrates the power of a little encouragement. . . . Reynolds pulls off exactly what his young heroine does, creating an impressive work from deceptively simple beginnings." — Publishers Weekly, starred review* "With art that seems perfectly suited to the mood and the message of the text, Reynolds inspires with a gentle and generous mantra: 'Just make a mark.'" — School Library Journal, starred review"It may speak to formerly artistic young readers who are selling their own abilities short." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Ish:* "Ish. . . encourages readers to see the world anew." — School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

12/01/2017
Gr 1–3—Jerome is a collector. While others collect stamps or trading cards, he collects words that he hears, sees, or reads—words that catch his fancy "multisyllable words that sounded like little songs" or "words he did not know the meaning of at first, but … were marvelous to say…." When he accidentally slips and his word collection scatters, he is inspired to begin "stringing words together. Words he had not imagined being side by side." Soon there are poems and songs and surprisingly simple, but mighty combinations like "I understand" or "I'm sorry." Determined to share his newfound knowledge, on a breezy day, Jerome climbs a hill and tosses his collection to the wind. Reynolds leaves readers with his own string of words, "Reach for your own words/Tell the world who you are/And how you will make it better." Less wordy (excuse the pun) than Roni Schotter and Giselle Potter's The Boy Who Loved Words or Max's Words by Kate Banks and Boris Kulikov, this book is short and sweet yet packs a powerful punch. Reynolds's signature ink-and-gouache cartoons manage to capture both the joy of learning and the power of kindness. VERDICT A perfect introduction to vocabulary units that should encourage youngsters to collect their own words to create their own poems. Have students write 10 favorite words from their collections on slips of colored paper for a poetry word wall, and let the inspiration flow.—Barbara Auerbach, formerly at New York City Public Schools

School Library Journal

2017-10-01
Young logophile Jerome moves through a deepening relationship with words in Reynolds' latest.Jerome, a young boy of color, is a fastidious collector, but rather than collecting bugs or coins or comic books, Jerome collects words. Words that are new to him, words that sound fascinating to him, words that delight him—Jerome copies down his favorites and keeps them organized in scrapbooks. One day, Jerome takes a tumble, and his books of words seem to explode, and clouds of paper fill the page. His collection becomes fantastically jumbled as "words he had not imagined being side by side" suddenly inspire Jerome to make new creations not only to collect, but also to share. Phrases become poems, and poems become songs. Simple words share powerful feelings. Even as he delights in sharing of himself with his burgeoning lexicon, he decides to share his collection as well, releasing it into the wind for others to find and begin their own collections. In his love letter to those who take delight in words, Reynolds elegantly and with almost ironic brevity demonstrates the entrancing meanings and sounds and textures of English words together with uncluttered (if fairly literal) illustrations to capture the beauty of words and the wonder of sharing them with others. (Languages other than English are largely unrepresented.)Enchanting if monolingual. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews