Ask a baseball fan about his card collection, or a teacher about her library, and it will open up a world of conversation. Whether it be seashells or stamps, bugs or books, collections bring comfort to people of all ages.
Jerome’s collection is one that he could add to throughout each and every day… because Jerome collected words.
“He collected words he heard (certain words caught his attention). He collected words he saw (certain words jumped out at him). He collected words he read (certain words popped off the page). “
Jerome filled scrapbooks with words that he had organized into neat categories – from comedic to serious and Italian to French.
However, one day, a spill caused Jerome’s beloved words to become mixed up, and with this “beautiful oops,” Jerome found beauty in the ability to see words in a different light.
His words suddenly held power and the opportunity to become something greater together than they were on their own.
Peter Reynolds captures our hearts yet again through this simply stunning display of how a young boy discovers the ability to share himself, and his words, with the world.
This book is a wonderful addition to a lesson on vocabulary, narrative writing, poetry or any other genre. It was well loved in my 2nd grade classroom and encouraged a rich conversation about word choice and the weight words can hold within text.
Thank you for the kind words about my book! I appreciate you telling the world about the story and I hope it inspires lots of work collecting with students and staff!