I Talk Like a River • Words by Jordan Scott • Pictures by Sidney Smith

 

I Talk Like a River is an absolutely gorgeous picture book, with a touching, heartfelt, and important story about an experience in the author's youth, dealing with his stuttering. The illustrations by Sidney Smith are breathtaking, and Sidney, if you're reading this, I'd love to purchase some if they are for sale.

The story opens with a young boy waking up and thinking of all the words around him that he can't say. "The P in pine tree grows roots inside my mouth and tangles my tongue." As he gets ready for school, he doesn't say a word. In his classroom, he tries to disappear, but the teacher asks him a question, and the class turns to look at him. Wrought with fear, getting out the words is particularly hard, and he just wants to go home. His father picks him up from school, and after hearing about his son's day, he decides to take him somewhere quiet, to the river. While being with his dad in a quiet place soothes him, he still thinks about his horrible day at school. As he wells up with tears, his father tells him "See how that water moves? That's how you speak." The river becomes a simile for all the words bubbling, churning and crashing in his mouth. The metaphor "I talk like a river." becomes a constant reminder, to keep himself from crying, too keep from not wanting to speak. The next time he goes to school, he stands in front of the class to talk about his favorite place; he talks about the river, and he talks like a river.

The illustrations are artworks in and of themselves. The deep blacks, the simple painterly strokes, the page composition, and the use of blurred images help to illustrate the emotion and pain the young boy feels. The interior gatefold is impressively impactful. Closed, it is very tight on the boys face, eyes closed, sad, with strong back light. Opened it is a gorgeous spread of him in the river with dappled light reflecting off the water's surface.

What touched me most was the boy's relationship with his father. An example of a father that was missing in my own life. An outstanding picture book full of empathy and compassion.

Mark's Book Picks Score: 5

Reading Level: 2.0 • Interest Level: K-3 • AR Points: NA • Lexile Level: NA • Publisher: Penguin • Pages: 40 • Copyright: 2020 • ISBN: 978-0-8234-4559-2 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding