Ever felt like you don’t fit in?
Or there’s something about yourself that you don’t like?
Waking up each day, the author shares how the word sounds get stuck in his mouth. He describes the feeling of having roots inside his mouth that tangle his tongue and stick in the back of his throat. He stays quiet. He’s afraid to be called on to speak in class as he will be laughed at.
Jordan Scott has written a personal story to honour his father who taught him how to think about the way he speaks in a natural way. The flow of the water, the churning and bubbling of the river, shows young Jordan that even the river stutters like he does.
Nature has a way of always supporting us.
The illustrations are water colour paintings that powerfully demonstrate feelings of isolation and the loneliness of being different. The paintings come into focus and clarity, filling with light, when the boy starts to feel less alone and notice how the natural world stutters too.
Sometimes a change in perspective can make all the difference.
This book isn’t just for a child who struggles with their speech. We all have struggles with ourselves that make us stick out from the crowd. We all can feel different and alone.
Jordan’s father helps him learn to accept who he is rather than trying to “fix” him. He realizes that the way he speaks makes him who he is.
What a beautiful and powerful message of self-acceptance and belonging.
Helps with: living with a stutter, being different, raising awareness about stuttering, self-acceptance, empathy, neurodiversity, examples of the natural world teaching us, feeling supported to be yourself, changing the way you think.
Author: Jordan Scott
Publisher: Neal Porter Books, 2020