Noah Webster and His Words
Written by Jeri Chase Ferris
Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
SCBWI Golden Kite award for best NF book of 2012
The second most popular book printed in English ever? Webster’s Dictionary! Jeri Chase Ferris provides a clever biography for third grade readers and tells the details of Webster’s prolific writing without being too heady or verbose. Ferris highlights the most important and interesting facts of this key American figure. Readers will immediately recognize Webster’s name from the dictionary that nearly everyone owns, but Noah Webster and His Words highlights details that most have never learned. Students will delight to learn that Webster started out as a teacher, and was driven to write books because there were no American books for his students. His search for knowledge and correct information drove him to travel and speak broadly, and he played a key role politically in the early years of the United States. Noah Webster is an American Hero!
In true Webster Dictionary form, there are more than a dozen vocabulary words with definitions and pronunciation guides; this charming detail will not go unnoticed by any reader. Vincent X. Kirsch’s witty illustrations are perfect for this elementary biography. In the back of the book, there is a time line of Webster’s life. As a follow-up activity, students may create an autobiographical timeline, complete with illustrations. An easy read aloud, Noah Webster and His Words is a must-have book for any third grade class learning about biographies or early American history.
Title: Noah Webster and His Words- Author: Jeri Chase Ferris
- Illustrator: Vincent X. Kirsch
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
- Reviewer: Sharon Schulte
- Hardback, 32 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-547-39055-0
- Genre: Non-fiction/biography