The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Bryant, J., & Sweet, M. (2014). The right word Roget and his thesaurus. Grand Rapids Michigan: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-1-4674-4422-4
Plot Summary:
Bryant & Sweet work together to tell the story about Roget’s life and how he came to write and publish his famed thesaurus. The story starts when Roget is a young boy and his family suffers from his father’s death. Change occurs, and the one thing that Roget can run to is books. He in fact starts to write his own books; but not books of stories, books of lists. His life is represented with Sweet’s illustrations; created with watercolors, collages, and mixed media, really help tell the story of this man’s life. He became a man well known and liked by his peers. He went on to publish his original book of word lists in 1852, and wanted it to be used by people in all runs of life, not just doctors, politicians, and the like.
Analysis:
This picture book biography follows Roget’s life as he grows from a shy young boy to a young doctor, to the man that he is most know to be, the author of the famed “Roget’s Thesaurus.” Bryant depicts Roget as a very smart person, who diligently worked on his book of lists while still being a man involved in the world around him. The text is set against a neutral background with the colorful illustration in form of collages wrapped around it. The illustrations are done with detail and allow early readers to follow along with what is happening in Roget’s life. Some of the illustrations work at displaying his lists and the way that he organized them, one could say that you can see the way he thought. Though this may be a picture book biography, readers of all ages (including adults) could learn much about Roget. There are additional resources at the end of the book such as a timeline of Roget’s life with world events included, Author’s & Illustrator’s note, and even a list of books for future reading that allow readers to gather more information as their curiosity may have peaked.
Review Excerpts:
Caldecott Medal (2015)
Starred review on KIRKUS (08/2014) “Bryant’s prose is bright and well-tuned for young readers. She goes gently, omitting Roget’s darkest traumas, such as witnessing his uncle’s suicide. Sweet tops herself—again!—visually reflecting Roget’s wide range as a thinker and product of the Enlightenment.”
Starred review on PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY (07/2014) “Sweet envisions Roget’s work as a shadow box crammed with the wonders of the natural world, adorned with exuberant hand-lettered typography. Together with Bryant’s sympathetic account, Sweet’s gentle riot of images and words humanizes the man behind this ubiquitous reference work and demystifies the thesaurus itself.”
Connections:
Writing Connection-This book would be a great way to introduce “Roget’s Thesaurus” to young students before they start using one for writing. Good question to use would be “Why do you think it might be good to know many different words for the same thing?,” Common Sense Media, 2014.
Read Aloud available here:
Comments
Post a Comment