# I Talk Like a River - Hardcover

by **Jordan Scott** (Author), **Sydney Smith** (Illustrator)

**Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award  
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner  
**

What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to?

Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get the words flowing.

A _New York Times_ Best Children's Book of the Year

_I wake up each morning with the sounds of words all around me._

_And I can't say them all . . ._

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognize a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him.

Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. A book for any child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.

**Finalist for the BC and Yukon Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize**  
**A Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book**  
**An American Library Association Notable Children's Book**  
**ILA Primary Fiction Honoree**  
**Named a Best Book of the Year by _The_ **_Wall Street Journal_,** _People_ Magazine, NPR, _Kirkus Reviews_, _Shelf Awareness_, _Bookpage, School Library Journal_, _Publishers Weekly_, Publishers Lunch, and more!**  
**A _Horn Book_ Fanfare Best Book of the Year**  
**A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection**  
**A Bank Street Best Childrens Book of the Year!**  
**A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year**  
**A CBC Best Picture Book of the Year**  
**A Kids' Book Choice Award Finalist**

### Author Biography

Jordan Scott is a poet whose work includes _Silt_, _Blert_, _DECOMP_, and _Night & Ox_. _Blert_, which explores the poetics of stuttering, is the subject of two National Film Board of Canada projects, _Flub and Utter: a poetic memoir of the mouth_ and _STUTTER_. Scott was the recipient of the 2018 Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize for his contributions to Canadian poetry. _I Talk Like a River_ is Scott's first book for children. He lives in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island with his wife and two sons.

Sydney Smith is an illustrator of picture books whose work includes _Sidewalk Flowers_ by JonArno Lawson; _The White Cat and the Monk_ by Jo Ellen Bogart; and _Town Is by the Sea_ by Joanne Schwartz, which was awarded the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal and the 2018 Children's Literature Award. He both wrote and illustrated _Small in the City_, which _Kirkus Reviews_ called "Extraordinary, emotional, and beautifully rendered." in a starred review. _School Library Journal_ said "The use of line, reflection, and perspective masterfully evoke a bustling gray city." in another starred review. Travis Jonker of _100 Scope Notes_, a _School Library Journal_ blog, said "_Small in the City_ is one of my favorite books of 2019." His accolades include two Governor General's Awards for Illustrated Children's Books and four successive _New York Times_ Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year citations.

**Number of Pages:** 40

**Dimensions:** 0.4 x 10.1 x 9.1 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** September 01, 2020

**Award:** Schneider Family Book Award (2021)

**Award:** Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (2021)

**Award:** Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production (2022)

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** I Talk Like a River

**Interest Level:** Lower Grades, K-3

**Reading Level:** 3.1

**Point Value:** 0.5

## Details

- **Price:** 18.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 18.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- I Talk Like a River - Hardcover

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