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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

A playful, informative look at the life of fascinating Noah Webster, originator of Webster’s Dictionary , notes that by age twelve Noah was skilled at farming, like the long line of Websters that came before him. “But Noah did not want to be in that long line. He did not want to be a farmer at all.” Noah wanted to be a scholar (“noun: one who goes to school; a person who knows a lot.”). Jeri Chase Ferris’s delightful account goes on to tell of Webster’s early days as a school teacher during the American Revolution, when he wrote a speller that distinguished American spelling from English. He began work on his dictionary—his major accomplishment—in 1807, after he’d studied twenty different languages (to provide word derivations). Nearly twenty years later, he finally finished (and took a nap). Ferris’s light touch is perfectly matched by Vincent X. Kirsch’s appealing illustrations in this picture book biography that includes additional information about Webster in an end note, along with a timeline and sources. (Ages 6–9)

CCBC Choices 2013 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013. Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from December 24, 2012
"Noah's dictionary is the second most popular book ever printed in English, after the Bible," writes Ferris toward the end of this quick-witted biography of Webster, which more than does justice to the man and his body of work. Although Webster comes from a long line of farmers, "Noah did not want to be in that long line.... Noah wanted to be a SCHOL-AR ." This mixture of biographical detail, humor, and vocabulary-building continues throughout Ferris's account, and Kirsch's scraggly mixed-media illustrations create a decidedly unstuffy atmosphere. Webster is shown with a round, oversize head and exaggerated spindly limbs; as words come to define Webster's life (so to speak), Kirsch occasionally uses swoopy script lettering as texture. Webster's commitment to the newly formed nation of America is as evident as his love of language; a timeline and author's note provide further detail about his life. A rousing success . Ages 4â€"8. Agent: Writers House. Illustrator's agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, McIntosh & Otis.