My Words

In this brightly colored picture book, Snider uses childlike illustrations and graphic typography over ample white space to complement a pigtailed child’s first-person retrospective of her word-learning journey. As the fuchsia-dress-wearing Ava progresses from baby talk (“waaa oooh eee gaga yaaa”) to short words (“Ba! Ma! Da?”) and onomatopoeia (“drip drop”), Snider dives into the language-acquisition process, which his protagonist describes as “ideas that break free and take flight.” Showcasing language’s multifaceted utility, Snider employs a lively rhyme scheme throughout, and concludes by conveying how Ava uses her love of words as her vocabulary acquisition moves from getting words to writing them. Digitally colored illustrations are unassuming but dynamic, with occasional paneled pages emphasizing Ava’s vocabulary expansion. While the developmental overview may interest adults more than children, the simple story may nevertheless prove inspiring to budding writers. Ages 4–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]