Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. Some people collect shells or stones; young Selig collects words. Whenever he hears a new one he likes, he jots it down on a slip of paper and stuffs it into a convenient pocket, a sock, a sleeve, or a hat. When you're a kid, such eccentric behavior doesn't go unnoticed, and soon his classmates have given him a new name, Wordsworth, and a new word to add to his collection, oddball. Ouch! But with the help of a friendly genie, who calls him Voidsvoith, a lover of voids, Selig finds his life's purpose and romance, to boot. Potter's signature naive-style art is light and comical, while Schotter's words are a lovely celebration of the power and the music of language. A glossary of Selig's favorite words--from aflutter to windmill--adorns the book's endpapers. --Michael Cart Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
How do you spell enthusiasm? Selig, a boy driven by his desire to collect words, surely knows the answer in this quirkily inspirational picture book. Rather than play ball or hang out with friends, Selig prefers jotting down words that appeal to him on slips of paper (his "pockets positively brimmed with words"). The other kids think he's an oddball, and nickname him Wordsworth. But Selig receives affirmation from a genie with a Yiddish inflection who appears to him in a dream and tells the boy to find a "poipose" to match his passion. On his ensuing travels, Selig finally finds ways to literally "spread the word," from his copious collection, for the greater good. Schotter's (Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street) text, though slow in spots, whimsically conveys Selig's zeal for vocabulary building. Potter (The Year I Didn't Go to School) joins in the fun by sprinkling her stylized earth-tone watercolors with collaged words in various fonts. Scenic background details and characters' clothing suggest 1950s New York City, giving this volume a pleasingly old-fashioned flair. Endpapers feature an extensive glossary to tickle young word-fanciers. One design quibble: the italic typeface used in the text to highlight newly discovered terms is sometimes difficult to read. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Schotter blends magical realism with a tongue-tingling narrative to create an ode to the power and purpose of language. Selig is passionate about words-their sounds ("tintinnabulating!"), their taste ("tantalizing!"), and the way they "moved his heart." An avid word-hoarder, he delights in discovering new terms, recording them on paper scraps, and stowing them in pockets. Unable to comprehend their son's "strange predilection," his practical-minded parents worry about his future, and his classmates cruelly add "oddball" to his collection. After dreaming about a Yiddish Genie who advises him to embrace his passion and seek his life's "poipose," Selig embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Feeling weighted down by his vocabulary slips, he climbs a tree and carefully attaches them to the branches. Fantastically and fittingly, several of them blow into the hands of a poet who is struggling for the right adjectives to finish his verse. Selig realizes that his mission is to bestow his word wealth upon others. He tosses out "luscious" to accentuate a baker's wares, halts an argument with "harmony," and invigorates an elderly man with "spry." He grows up to find personal fulfillment and even true love. The author shares her own affection for language through the descriptive, lyrical text, italicizing particularly delectable but possibly unfamiliar terms and defining them in a two-page glossary. Potter's folk-art paintings echo the story's whimsy and set the action in an idyllic-looking, early-20th-century past. An inspiring choice for young wordsmiths and anyone who cherishes the variety and vitality of language.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Veering a fine line between charming and overly precious (the Yiddish-accented genie seems out of place), this is the story of Selig, a boy who collects interesting words such as clambered, mellifluous, and tintinnabulating and then finds ways to give them to whomever needs the right word at the right time. The old-fashioned-looking paintings fit the slightly formal but amusing text. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A charmingly prolix tall tale of a boy so word-obsessed that he collects new words on slips of paper. They bulge from his pockets, float around his head and fill his world. Classmates nickname Selig "Wordsworth" and give him a word for his collection: "oddball." The discovery that his purpose in life is to share his carefully chosen words with others leads to success and love. And, "if, one day, . . . the perfect word just seems to come to you . . . you'll know that Selig is near." Schotter's words are enlivened by Potter's distinctively na™ve figures, all placed in settings in which words and labels are scattered about in a way that invites close inspection and promotes purposeful inquiry. It all adds up to an *exultant encounter, chockablock with tintinnabulating gusto (*see tantalizing glossary appended). A gift to precocious children and teachers as well. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
