A Walk in the Words
by Hudson Talbott (Author) Hudson Talbott (Illustrator)
When Hudson Talbott was a little boy, he loved drawing, and it came naturally to him. But reading? No way! One at a time, words weren't a problem, but long sentences were a struggle. As his friends moved on to thicker books, he kept his slow reading a secret. But that got harder every year. He felt alone, lost, and afraid in a world of too many words.
Fortunately, his love of stories wouldn't let him give up. He started giving himself permission to read at his own pace, using the words he knew as stepping-stones to help draw him into a story. And he found he wasn't so alone--in fact, lots of brilliant people were slow readers, too. Learning to accept the fact that everyone does things in their own unique way, and that was okay, freed him up and ultimately helped Hudson thrive and become the fabulous storyteller he is today.
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School Library Journal
Gr 1-3—With a directness similar to Jordan Scott's I Talk Like a River, this story addresses the stigma surrounding dyslexia. While drawing is like breathing for the boy, he knows he is the slowest reader in his class. He is completely isolated by his fear of being found out until he realizes that he can make sense of what he's reading if he takes his time and uses familiar words like stepping stones. His curiosity to know how a story turns out powers him forward with reading while he discovers that writing words can bring his drawings to life. It helps to know that Einstein, Leonardo, and Picasso, among others in his Slow Readers Hall of Fame, shared the same challenge. Talbott speaks from personal experience, as an author's note explains, and does a brilliant job of illuminating the feeling of dyslexia through his watercolor and colored pencil illustrations. He shows us how turning a word into a picture helps with memory. Readers see a page with a few legible words in a sea of squiggles and a double-page spread mostly covered in encyclopedia clippings with an overwhelmed little face peering over the top. VERDICT Leavened with humor, charm, and a child's self-empowerment, this is an important book both for struggling readers and for classmates who need to cultivate a dose of empathy.—Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly Fairfax County P.S., VA
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
this book is GOOD
i like it be cause he faces hes fear. and he likes the words and he tells story's about them. and that writes about him.
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Books and reading
Self-esteem
Dyslexia
