I Talk Like a River

 

Title: I Talk Like a River

Author: Jordan Scott (Author); Sydney Smith (Illustrator)

 

Publisher: Neal Porter Books

 

Format: Book

 

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

 

Grade Level: PreK through 3rd Grade

 

Category: Disabilities/Differences

 

 A boy with a stutter has what his dad calls "a bad speech day." He wakes up, gets ready for the day, and goes to school without a word. But when a teacher calls on him in class, he's forced to speak in front of all his classmates, and his words get stuck at the back of his mouth. He feels dejected after school, so his dad takes him to their favorite place, the river, and tells him that even the river stutters. 

    I chose this book because my brother and sister had speech impediments as children, which makes the subject personal for me. I also noticed the book has won quite a few awards, including the Schneider Family Book Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, which piqued my interest.

 

Illustrations. Smith's watercolor illustrations are quite stunning in this book, and do a fantastic job of capturing emotion. For example, a favorite page of mine is when the boy of the story is called on to speak in class, and his surroundings blur and distort to capture his feelings of anxiety and panic. Smith also uses calming, natural colors like blue, green, and soft yellow. The boy's stuttering is often compared to things and sounds found in nature, and at the end of the book, he is comforted by the idea that his stutter is natural like the river; Smith's palette of natural hues tie into this theme.

 

Characters. The two primary characters of the story are the unnamed young boy and his father. His father is not incredibly dynamic, but plays an important role in the boys personal story and emotional growth through his mentoring. The boy, on the other hand, is very complex and dynamic for such a short story. Through both the prose and illustrations, we can see that the boy has a rich inner life and a love of nature, and by the end of the story, he has gained more confidence in himself and an acceptance of his speech impediment as something that's as natural as a river. 

 

Mood. I Talk Like a River is, to its core, an uplifting book. Some parts are somber, even sad, but the ending really sticks the landing with its positive, inclusive messaging that readers will find thought-provoking and inspiring. Overall, it will leave readers feeling good. 

 

References:

Scott, J.(2020). I Talk Like a River (S. Smith, Illus.). Neal Porter.