How a Simple Children's Book Speaks to Us

As a paraprofessional at an elementary school, I assist in leading reading groups in many different grade levels. I show up with books to read and listening ear at the scheduled time.

But sometimes the classes just aren't quite ready for me at the scheduled time. In that case, I sit in the back and glance over my lesson plans one last time as I wait a few more minutes.

But on this particular day, I found myself listening along with (most of) the class.

The third graders--my last class of the day--were listening to their teacher read The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds. It's not a very long book, filled with simple words and bright illustrations.

The story centers around Jerome, a boy who (you guessed it) collects words. Any interesting word that strikes his fancy, he jots down on a slip of paper and adds it to his scrapbook. Up to today, he'd always kept his words with other words of their types--big words with other big words, little words with other little words, so on and so forth.

One day, however, he dropped his word collection. And as he picked them up, he realized there were wonderful combinations in them being mixed up. He experiments with different combinations of words, but finds that "the simple words were the most powerful."

Jerome wants to share his words with the world. So he loads up all those little squares of paper, pushes them in a wheelbarrow to the top of a hill, and showers them on the valley below.

It sounds like a simple story, but seriously. Take a minute and find a copy of The Word Collector or look up a read aloud video of it.

We are all just like Jerome. No matter who we are or what we do, we collect words from the moment we're born. It's how we learn to use them.

We collect words we hear. Words we read. Words we think.

We collect beautiful words. Happy words. Sad words. Anxious words. Angry words.

We collect words that should never be said. Words that can tear through a person. And words that make our day.

I wish all words were the kind that could brighten a gray day. But even if we were completely perfect and never thought them ourselves, sad and angry words will still find their way into our collections whether we like it or not.

And whether it's through writing or another method, we want to share our words with the world.

So, a few things I'm remembering from Jerome's tale as share my words.

Simple words are the most powerful. Words like "I'm sorry." "I understand." "Thank you." It may not take an eloquent speech to make the world for someone else. So say the words that need to be said.

You don't have to keep sad or angry words in your collection. We cannot control the words others say to us, but we can control the ones we keep and share.

Shake up your words. Maybe you don't like all the words you have. Maybe they seem flat and boring. Toss them into the air and see what patterns emerge. Look at them in a new way. Use them to create amazing words. Even the words we dislike the most can become something that lifts someone else up.

Lastly, words are meant for sharing. So fling them out on the valley below and listen to what happens. Your words are meant for wonderful places.

*Where could your words go? What are some of your favorite children's books? Share your adventures in the comments!*