The Word Collector

Jerome's hobby is words. He collects them. He classifies them. He loves them. One day, Jerome's collection is scattered, and his well-organized words are in complete disarray--the mayhem this causes results in... poetry. And songs. And a greater realization of the power of words. Even the most simple of words like "thank you," and "you matter." Jerome decides to unleash the power of the words he has gathered, and he releases them into the wind. With that, Jerome discovers the happiness that comes with sharing their power with others.

THE WORD COLLECTOR, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, is an absolutely wonderful children's picture book. Jerome and his words are both soothing and scintillating. They inspire and they teach... and although it's a book about words, and the words hold center stage, the illustrations manage to be just as beautiful as the text. Jerome and his world are simply drawn, but that adds to the book's strength.

Maybe my love for this book is based in being a word collector myself, but whatever the reason, know that I'll be giving a copy of it to every child I know, and keeping a copy for myself, of course. My plan is to read THE WORD COLLECTOR whenever the worries of the world are pulling me down.

My thanks to the publisher and YA Books Central for a copy of this lovely book in exchange for my honest review.