THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS by Jen Bryant

Bibliographic Data

Bryant, Jen.  2014.  THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.  ISBN:  9780802853851

Plot Summary

As a young boy, Peter Roget was quiet and introverted, and had difficulty making friends when his family moved so frequently.  Peter used his quiet time to make lists:  lists of events, lists of knowledge, and lists of interesting words.  This is the story of how the gifted young Peter’s love of knowledge and words led him to create Roget's Thesaurus:  published in 1852 and still in use today. 

Critical Analysis

This fascinating, well-researched book is a true tribute to the genius of Peter Roget.  The narrative story is captivating and informative, but it is the illustrations that steal the thunder and make this a breathtaking, awe-inspiring read.  Each page is littered with words, dutifully organized, and accented with scattered illustrations of partial maps, books, decorative papers, botanicals, and miscellaneous objects of random interest.  Just as Roget was interested in every subject, so this book is filled with numerous little bits of everything.  The biographical text is often organized in list-like form, sentences travelling vertically down the page, as an homage to Roget’s love for “lists in long, neat rows.”  Bundles of words are scribbled, drawn, and emphasized in child-like print, colorfully accented and appropriately clustered by category, a visual representation of Peter’s mind at work as he searches for just the right word in every situation.  The final pages include a timeline of Roget's life, aptly titled "List of Principal Events" and modeled by the very first list Peter wrote as a young boy.

The author and illustrator show true reverence for Roget’s extensive intellect.  Both include notes to the reader at the end of the book, describing time spent poring over a copy of the original thesaurus and marveling at the dedication it took to classify and record most every English word by its meaning.

Children will love this story of a boy who collected words and grew to create a useful tool that is still around today. 

Review Excerpts

"Sweet envisions Roget's work as a shadow box crammed with the wonders of the natural world, adorned with exuberant hand-lettered typography. Together with Bryant's sympathetic account, Sweet's gentle riot of images and words humanizes the man behind this ubiquitous reference work and demystifies the thesaurus itself." -- Publishers Weekly (STARRED Review)

"In brilliant pages teeming with enthusiasm for language and learning, Bryant and Sweet joyfully celebrate curiosity, the love of knowledge, and the power of words."

-- Booklist (STARRED review)

 “Expertly researched and well written, Bryant’s narrative not only details the creation of the thesaurus; it also conveys a sense of Roget the man. . . . An excellent illustrated biography.” -- School Library Journal (STARRED review)

"Encourages a sense of wonder. . . . Myriad visual temptations luring viewers into a fine browsing experience." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

• Connections
  Include in grammatical studies of synonyms, antonyms, and homophones
• Connect the classification of words with the classification of object properties in scientific studiesa
• Read other books that pay tribute to words and the English language, such as Max’s Words by Kate Banks and The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter
• Start a collection of interesting words by cutting them from newspapers and magazines.  Categorize them and glue in a journal.

Awards and Honors

• Booklist’s 2014 Lasting Connections
• Booklist Editor's Choice List—Books for Youth: nonfiction
• Caldecott Honor Book 
• CLSC Young Readers selection for 2015
• Eureka! Honor Award, 2014
• Horn Book Magazine‘s Best Books of 2014
• The Horn Book Fanfare 2014 
• Huffington Post Best Picture Books of 2014
• IRA Reading Today Online Best Picture Books of 2014 
• Junior Library Guild Selection
• Kirkus Review Best of 2014—Children's Books
• Maine Lupine Book Award
• Nerdy Book Club’s 2014 Nerdy Awards for Nonfiction Picture Books 
• New York Times Notable Children’s Books 2014
• Orbis Pictus Honor Book 2015 (NCTE)
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal 
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2014
• SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Illustration 
• School Library Journal Best Books 2014
• Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit 2014 selection 
• Texas Bluebonnet Master List for 2015-16