Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner

What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to?

Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get the words flowing.

A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year

I wake up each morning with the sounds of words all around me.

And I can't say them all . . .

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognize a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him.

Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. A book for any child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.

Finalist for the BC and Yukon Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize

An American Library Association Notable Children's Book

ILA Primary Fiction Honoree

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Shelf Awareness, Bookpage, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Lunch, and more!

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

A CBC Best Picture Book of the Year