The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

by Jen Bryant, Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Overview

2015 Caldecott Honor Book

2015 Sibert Medal Winner

2015 Orbis Pictus Honor Book

For shy young Peter Mark Roget, books were the best companions -- and it wasn't long before Peter began writing his own book. But he didn't write stories; he wrote lists. Peter took his love for words and turned it to organizing ideas and finding exactly the right word to express just what he thought. His lists grew and grew, eventually turning into one of the most important reference books of all time.

Readers of all ages will marvel at Roget's life, depicted through lyrical text and brilliantly detailed illustrations. This elegant book celebrates the joy of learning and the power of words.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802853851
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/15/2014
Pages:	42
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jen Bryant (www.jenbryant.com) has written numerous books for young readers, including A Splash of Red (Knopf), Georgia's Bones, and A River of Words (both Eerdmans), as well as the acclaimed novel-in-verse The Trial (Random House). She lives in Pennsylvania.

Melissa Sweet (www.melissasweet.net) has illustrated many award winning books, including A River of Words (Eerdmans), a 2009 Caldecott Honor book, and A Splash of Red (Knopf), an NCTE Orbis Pictus Award winner and a Sibert Honor book. She also wrote and illustrated Balloons Over Broadway (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), winner of the 2012 Sibert Medal and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award. Melissa lives in Maine.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] spirited portrait of the Swiss-born Victorian who found an ingenious way to help people say what they mean. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet…have done their homework and considered their audience…The narrative moves swiftly…Sweet's richly layered graphics frame the basic narrative drawings in collaged bits and pieces of calligraphy, antique engraving, archival maps, bookbinding remnants and other evocative oddments that collectively provide an attic-glimpse into the mind of a restless man whose vast vocabulary could barely keep pace with his curiosity.

The New York Times Book Review - Leonard S. Marcus

★ 07/07/2014
The award-winning team behind A River of Words takes on the story of British physician Peter Mark Roget, author of the eponymous thesaurus. Bryant draws a clear line from the dislocations of Roget’s youth—the death of his father in 1783 and the family’s frequent moves thereafter—to his need for order as he starts making lists of words. “Words, Peter learned, were powerful things. And when he put them into long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order.” Yet Roget wasn’t merely a reclusive scholar. He meant for his thesaurus to have a democratizing effect: “I want everyone to be able to use my word book, not just doctors, politicians, and lawyers, but cobblers, fishmongers, and factory workers.” 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. Ages 7–up. Author’s agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

-- Publishers Weekly (STARRED Review)
"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."

-- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED Review)
Bryant's prose is bright and well-tuned for young readers. . . . Sweet tops herself -- again! -- visually reflecting Roget's wide range as a thinker and product of the Enlightenment. Injecting her watercolor palette with shots of teal, scarlet and fuchsia, Sweet embeds vintage bits (ledger paper, type drawers, botanical illustrations and more), creating a teeming, contemplative, playfully celebratory opus. In a word: marvelous!"

-- Booklist (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."

-- School Library Journal (STARRED review)
“Those who have relied upon a thesaurus . . . will gain a greater appreciation for the reference tool in this beautifully designed picture book biography of its creator, Peter Roget. . . . Busy and exuberant, Sweet's charming watercolor illustrations, layered over collages of vintage images and fonts, capture Roget's passion for classification while also providing readers new opportunities for discovery. . . . 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.”

The Horn Book (STARRED review)
"Apt language and ingenious imagery. . . . both decorous and warm."

-- Capitol Choices
"From its busy end pages this lively book brings to life a creator and the words he was fascinated by."

New York Times
"Spirited portrait of the Swiss-born Victorian who found an ingenious way to help people say what they mean."

Washington Post
"Young readers will see that each page of this book, like each page of 'Roget's Thesaurus,' contains multitudes."

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

Providence Journal
“This treasure of a picture book biography traces the life of Peter Roget, the British physician who compiled 'Roget's Thesaurus.' Lyrical text and excellent multi-media illustrations . . . explore Roget's lifelong love of lists and words.

From the Publisher

While I am very familiar with Roget’s Thesaurus, I have to admit that I had never given much thought to Roget himself, or why he put his lists of words and definitions together. After reading this delightful picture book, though, I now have a real appreciation for Peter Mark Roget, his love of books, and his lists of words. Roget began creating his lists shortly after his father’s death, and they soon propelled him into a focus on finding just the right word for any situation. This attention to scholarly work helped Roget to work towards becoming a doctor at age nineteen, working as a tutor soon after that as his uncle was concerned that no one would take such a young doctor seriously, and eventually becoming a speaker. In 1852, at the urging of his children, Roget published his first thesaurus to much acclaim; Roget’s thesaurus has been in continuous print—with additions by Roget’s son and grandson—since then. The text of this book—a combination of poetry and narrative—work beautifully to highlight Roget’s love of words; the illustrations are well-developed and support the Roget’s actions and list-building effectively. A two page “List of Principal Events” section highlights world events against Roget’s life events. The bibliography at the end, as well as suggestions for future reading will also help those interested in learning more about Roget and his work. Thoroughly enjoyable! Reviewer: Jean Boreen, Ph.D.; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Jean Boreen

★ 10/01/2014
Gr 2–5—Those who have relied upon a thesaurus (meaning treasure house in Greek), either in print or through the tool menu of word processing software, will gain a greater appreciation for the reference tool in this beautifully designed picture book biography of its creator, Peter Roget. Bryant describes bibliophile Roget, taking him from a timid, studious child who was always compiling lists to an accomplished doctor who by 1805 had compiled the beginnings of the first thesaurus. Busy and exuberant, Sweet's charming watercolor illustrations, layered over collages of vintage images and fonts, capture Roget's passion for classification while also providing readers new opportunities for discovery (Latin translations of animal names, mathematical terms, and a plethora of synonyms). 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: his shy nature, his keen intelligence, and his passion for knowledge. There truly was a particular blend of artistry and intellect that went into Roget's book, as evidenced from a reproduced page from the original thesaurus. The book contains extensive back matter, including an incredibly detailed time line that goes into the man's other inventions (the slide rule, the pocket chess set) and an author and illustrator's note, as well as Roget quotations that are sure to inspire if not a love of language then at least a search for the perfect turn of phrase. An excellent illustrated biography.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2014-07-15
After award-winning collaborations about poet William Carlos Williams and artist Horace Pippin, Bryant and Sweet return to investigate the life of Peter Mark Roget. Born in London in 1779, Roget was plagued by lifelong setbacks. His father died early; his mother was unstable. Frequent moves and pronounced shyness engendered solace in books. Partial to classifying his knowledge and experiences, Peter composed his first book of lists by age 8. Inspired by the taxonomy of Swedish physician and botanist Linnaeus, teenage Peter studied medicine in Scotland, eventually establishing a practice in London, and he worked on a book of word classifications, completing it in 1805 for his own reference. Roget lectured, invented (the slide rule and the pocket chess set) and, inspired by the publication of several contemporary, inferior books of lists, returned to his own. His Thesaurus, published in 1852 and nurtured by his descendants, has never gone out of print. Bryant's prose is bright and well-tuned for young readers. She goes gently, omitting Roget's darkest traumas, such as witnessing his uncle's suicide. Sweet tops herself—again!—visually reflecting Roget's wide range as a thinker and product of the Enlightenment. Injecting her watercolor palette with shots of teal, scarlet and fuchsia, Sweet embeds vintage bits (ledger paper, type drawers, botanical illustrations and more), creating a teeming, contemplative, playfully celebratory opus. In a word: marvelous! (chronology, author's and illustrator's notes, selected bibliography, suggested reading, quotation sources, photograph of manuscript page) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews