Description A beautiful picture book that has touched the hearts of critics and readers around the world! A wondrous collaboration between Jordan Scott, one of Canada's leading poets, and Sydney Smith, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal! "Without a doubt, the best picture book of the year." — BookPage "A luminous coming-of-age story about accepting what makes you different." — Kirkus Reviews "Tenderly comforts the hearts of children who stutter, and their families." — The New York Times "The astonishing healing power of nature unfolds like magic." — Horn Book "With restrained language and overflowing love, it embraces every outsider." — School Library Journal Children Who Grow Beyond Their Inner Pain Every morning, the boy wakes to the sound of words. The 'pine tree' outside his window. The 'crow' perched on its branch. The 'moon' fading into the morning sky. But he cannot speak any of these words aloud. The moment he opens his mouth, the words take root on his tongue, tangle themselves up, stick fast in his throat, and erase his lips. He can only move his mouth silently, or clamp it shut like a stone. At school, he sits in the very back row, hoping each day that he won't be called on to speak. But today, he must give a presentation — his teacher has asked everyone to share, one by one, about their favorite place in the world. Today his throat feels more tightly closed than ever. His mouth won't move at all. When his father comes to pick him up from school and sees his gloomy face, he takes him down to the river instead. Walking together along the empty riverbank, the boy's heart begins to settle — but soon the memory of the presentation creeps back in: the many eyes that watched his twisting, struggling lips, the many mouths that snickered and laughed. With tears welling in his eyes, his father quietly wraps him in a hug. Then, pointing at the river, he says, "See how the river flows? You talk just like that river." In that moment, something tightly clenched in the boy's heart, like a stone, begins to loosen after being held for so long. Looking at the river again after his father's words, he sees it bend, swirl, crash, and break apart as it flows. People often say a river flows grandly and smoothly, but really, it stutters too as it moves along. And beyond its rough currents, there are also calm, gentle waters. The boy realizes that within himself — within his stuttering — that same kind of current flows: soft, rippling, and shimmering. He may stumble over his words, but he never stumbles over his thoughts. When it's time for the presentation again, the boy stands before his classmates and talks about his favorite place in the world. In a voice that is calm, yet steadier than before, he tells them about the river. Embracing the parts of himself that are different from others, he takes one step forward into the world beyond. A picture book that resonates as deeply as a rippling river, I Talk Like the River is based on the true story of poet Jordan Scott. Jordan's own father used to come pick him up from school whenever there was a presentation that day, out of consideration for his son who stuttered. One day, when Jordan was upset, his father took him down to the river. The words the boy repeats like a chant in the story — "I talk like a river" — are the very words Jordan's father once said to him. That powerful memory completely transformed the way Jordan thought about his stutter. For a child for whom social connection with peers matters so much, realizing that he was different from others must have brought deep fear. But discovering that the river — which he had always thought flowed so smoothly and grandly — actually stumbled along just like he did brought young Jordan enormous comfort. Through a river that resembled himself, Jordan was able to step out of his sense of isolation, and he found the courage to put the flowing river within him into words — into poetry. It was his father's deep, quiet love and the beauty of nature that helped raise a stuttering boy into a poet. And it is this same remarkable, powerful healing force of nature that reaches readers so fully, thanks to Sydney...