Noah Webster: Weaver of Words

This NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book celebrates one of the most important patriots in post-Revolutionary times. Most readers know Noah Webster for his dictionary masterpieces and his promotion of a living "American Language" that embraces words and idioms from all its immigrant peoples. But he was also the driving force behind universal education for all citizens, including slaves, females, and adult learners. Speaker of twenty languages, he developed the new country's curriculum, writing and publishing American literature, American history, and American geography. He published New York City's first daily newspaper. As editor, Webster conducted a study and linked disease with poor sanitation. He created the country's first insurance company, established America's first copyright law, and became America's first best-selling author.

The cannon smoke of the American Revolution still fresh in the air, Noah Webster realized that “A national language is a band of national union.” Common spellings and pronunciations not only would help unite the thirteen colonies, but they also would further break the bond with England. And Noah Webster would help with his dictionaries, textbooks, and other cultural and political achievements.

Children's Literature

This beautifully illustrated and exceptionally well-written picture book is a must have for any school/public library. As a subject, Noah Webster is, in my opinion, one of the more interesting personages in American history because of his revolutionary ideas about the importance of language and words—at one point he pushed for an American language that eventually became the Americanized version of British English—and his innovative ideas about education. Most of us only know Noah Webster as "the guy who wrote the dictionary" to quote one of my students. However, this book does an exemplary job of sharing Webster's life and the experiences that framed his ideas on everything from the Federalist model of government to the need for more accessible and consistent spellings of words to encourage student learning. Webster's devotion to learning probably stood out for the most for me, and his ideas on education are still ones that we should value: small class size, rewarding students for good work, encouraging all to gain as much education as possible, and so forth. This book also has one of the most complete chronologies of a subject's life that I have seen in a picture book; the inclusion of both primary and secondary sources in the further reading section is also exemplary. This is a wonderful addition to any library. Reviewer: Jean Boreen, Ph.D.

Shea Pegi writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A number of her books have won awards from the International Reading Association, National Council for the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, and other organizations. She lives in Vernon, Connecticut.

Monica Vachula's paintings and drawings have been exhibited throughout New England and are in many private collections. She provided the illustrations for Tea with an Old Dragon: A Story of Sophia Smith, Founder of Smith College by Jane Yolen, as well as Noah Webster: Weaver of Words by Pegi Deitz Shea, Connecticut Book Award winner and an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book. She lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts.