Drawing always came naturally to Hudson.
But Hudson found reading did not come easy to him.
He felt lost in the world of words.
Hudson was the slowest reader in the class. What if the kids in his class found out that he couldn’t keep up?
Big and strange words like intimidation, overwhelm, and curiosity made him want to give up.
Hudson loved stories too much, so he found a way forward.
He read at his own pace and found the words he knew, and soon books weren’t so scary anymore.
Written by Hudson Talbott about the shame he experienced being a slow reader, this powerful story uses metaphor and pictures to illustrate the feeling of being lost and alone in a forest of words. Hudson shares how he pictured every single word to begin and eventually found stepping stones to lead him toward an appreciation of words.
We learn that Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Joan of Arc, and Shakespeare, among many others, were all slow readers. We are also reminded that slow readers have the advantage of savouring the story they are reading.
Having dyslexia is hard to understand, but this book does a wonderful job depicting what it feels like to be overwhelmed by reading. Most importantly, Hudson Talbott’s story empowers young readers to honour their own pace of reading.
“I hope that my story will help to heal those who bear similar scars to mine, and will empower young readers who are on their own journey to literacy”
Thank you Hudson Talbott for sharing your story!
Helps with: empower struggling readers, kids with reading difficulties, non-mainstream learners, and dyslexia.
Author: Hudson Talbot
Publisher: Nancy Paulson Books, 2021