Silver and gold stickers will soon adorn the dust jacket of “The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus,” the children’s book illustrated by Rockport’s Melissa Sweet.
“The Right Word” won gold in the Sibert Informational Book Medal competition for nonfiction children’s books and silver in the Caldecott competition. The Caldecott, named for a 19th century English illustrator, is considered a top honor in children’s literature. The gold medal winner was “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend” by Dan Santat.
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Both awards are given by the American Library Association.
Silver and gold stickers on the dust jacket mean “The Right Word” will get extra attention from librarians and booksellers, Sweet said.
“With both awards, it means that teachers and librarians will begin to use it in the classroom and curriculum. Not that they wouldn’t before, but this is a much bigger acknowledgment,” she said. “Budgets are tight, so these are the books that are absolutely brought in.”
Sweet collaborated with writer Jen Bryant on “The Right Word.” It is a picture biography about Peter Mark Roget and the thesaurus that he created. Sweet made mixed-media collages to illustrate Roget’s life, which was driven by the lists he created. The book tells of his love of words, collecting and organization, and his desire to find the perfect word for every occasion.
This is the second Caldecott Honor for Sweet and Bryant. Their picture biography of William Carlos Williams, “A River of Words,” won a Caldecott Honor in 2009.
Sweet will attend a ceremony in June in San Francisco, where she will receive both awards.
In addition, the National Council of Teachers of English awarded “The Right Word” an Orbis Pictus Honor, which recognizes excellence in nonfiction writing for children.
Sweet was preparing for a busy day on Monday when she got the call.
“The blizzard was just starting, and I was about to go out and get groceries,” she said. “Time sort of stops. The day sort of stops.”
Sweet has lived in Rockport nearly 15 years.
She said she hopes the awards mean “that Roget will inspire a new generation of logophiles.”
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