W is for Webster:
Noah Webster and His American Dictionary
by Tracey E. Fern
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
on November 10, 2015
Genre: Children's, Nonfiction, History, Biography
Length: 40 pages
by Tracey E. Fern
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
on November 10, 2015
Genre: Children's, Nonfiction, History, Biography
Length: 40 pages
Ages: 4 - 8 years
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Synopsis:
From an early age, Noah Webster was an odd fellow who liked to talk big and loved learning. He thought America needed its own national language and knew he was just the man to create it. He started with a speller, including everyday words like "scab," "grub," and "mop," and moved on to create a small dictionary. He rode around on a horse, selling his books by hand. Then Noah decided to compile a complete and comprehensive dictionary of American English. He thought the book would take him five years to finish. It took twenty, but his dictionary today is the second-most printed book in the English language.
My Thoughts:
Synopsis:
From an early age, Noah Webster was an odd fellow who liked to talk big and loved learning. He thought America needed its own national language and knew he was just the man to create it. He started with a speller, including everyday words like "scab," "grub," and "mop," and moved on to create a small dictionary. He rode around on a horse, selling his books by hand. Then Noah decided to compile a complete and comprehensive dictionary of American English. He thought the book would take him five years to finish. It took twenty, but his dictionary today is the second-most printed book in the English language.
My Thoughts:
Noah Webster grew up on a farm in a small town that had a one-room school with few books and no homework. But Noah loved books and homework and words most of all, and when he was 16, his father sent him to Yale. He enjoyed it so much that he eventually began to teach there, which fueled his motivation to create a new American dictionary. His obsession with words never ended and he collected and bound them into 'spellers' and then eventually his famous dictionary.
W is for Webster portrays the life of Noah Webster and his dedication to the idea of creating an American dictionary that he worked on throughout his life. No matter how long it took him to finish, his dictionary became the second most printed book in the English language!
The illustrations in this book are wonderful to look at, with neat perspectives and lots of texture. I loved the watercolor elements that made it look like ink was spilled here and there as well as all the words artfully placed into the illustrations. If you're worried about this biography being a bore, at least check it out for the entertaining art and typography!
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