A River of Words

The River of Words

The Story of William Carlos Williams

 

Written By:  Jen Bryant

Illustrated By:  Melissa Sweet

Readability Score:  Grade 3-6, 5.4, Lexile Measure 820L

Genre:  Biography

Subgenre:  Poetry

Theme:  Cleverness, creativity and Imagination

Primary Characters:  Willie

Secondary Characters:  Willie’s mother, Ezra Pound, Hilda Doolittle, and Charles Demuth

Awards:

About.com Best Children's Books of 2008
Book Links Lasting Connections of 2008
Caldecott Honor Book 2009
Christian Science Monitor Best Children's Books of 2008
CLN Chapter & Verse Book Club Selection
Cooperative Children's Book Center Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award 2009
Cybils Award Finalist 2008
Junior Library Guild Selection
Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books of 2008
NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts 2009
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award 2009
New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008
Parents' Choice Award Recommended winner 2008
School Library Journal Best Books 2008

Publication Data:  2008

Publishing Company:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

ISBN Number:  978-0-8028-5302-8

Summary: A River of Words is a biography about Dr. William Carlos Williams.  As a child he loved writing poetry about simple things and writing words.  As he grew he knew he could not make a decent living with his writing so he went to medical school and returned as a family doctor.  In his spare time he continued to pursue his love of words and continue to write his poems.

Classroom Ideas:

1.    Introduce Visual Imagery to the students while reading this poem.

2.    Begin write various types and styles of poetry while reading this book.