The Right Word - Roget and His Thesaurus
By Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
When I was 9-years old I asked for a thesaurus. My mother would always say, (depending what time of the year it was), “That’s a good idea for your birthday or Christmas.”
Somehow we didn’t beg or plead - we knew about our limited access to “luxuries or unnecessary items.”
She didn’t believe in buying us gifts for no reason. There were only two reasons we ever got gifts- our birthday or Christ’s birthday- Christmas.
Mostly that stemmed from her, a single mother, not being able to afford gifts for no reason. I understand how this taught me to wait. To anticipate something with joy. To not expect something just because I wanted it. I hardly ever got “things” - but I did get lessons, values and patience.
Getting my first thesaurus was so memorable.
I had to wait many months for it. Before I owned my own, I hung out at a beautiful, historic library in the reference section-- for fun! lol - My first Roget Thesaurus gave me so much joy. My mother told me Roget was the best.
Naturally, when I came across this children’s book- I cried. Laughed. Brought it home and really appreciated my childhood Roget experience. Appreciated the meaning of having to wait. I have many styles of thesauruses now. They still bring me joy, and they’re my go-to source for learning new words or expanding my vocabulary.
Sharing this story somehow brought me full circle on such simple things.
Things like:
Words
Reading
Learning
Mothering
Teaching
Missing people
Patience
Waiting
Libraries
Gifts
Synonyms
Writing
Elementary school
Asking and receiving
Gratitude
Sharing
The author and illustrator of this book have put together an amazing compilation of Roget’s life. I learned so much about this man- I also really liked the quote at the beginning of the book- it made me laugh out loud!
“The man is not wholly evil- he has a thesaurus in his cabin.” - JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan describing the character Captain Hook
8 окт 2024
