The gift of words

K-Gr 2--A heartfelt story about community and the power of words. Jerome, a young boy with brown skin, is a wordsmith who decides to go in search of words of inspiration throughout his town. However, as he strolls with his dog, he notices the words he sees lack warmth. The longer he walks, the more disheartened he becomes with the words in his town. It is at this point that Jerome comes up with a way to find words: he will come up with them himself. He heads to the park with his very own word collection and puts out the call to his neighbors to come help him decorate a tree with positive messages for the community. The art starts out quite muted, with only Jerome and his dog in bold colors, highlighting the sadness permeating the town. As Jerome begins to inspire his community, the bland colors are replaced with uplifting hues. VERDICT A lovely holiday story that speaks to the power of bringing community together during the holidays.--Tara Peace

Reynolds' Word Collector returns, just in time for the holidays! Jerome, a young, brown-skinned logophile with close-cropped purple hair, heads out with his rescue dog, Ekko, to find "holiday words. Words of hope. Words of joy. Words to give those he [loves]--family and friends." He quickly becomes discouraged. Signs on storefronts and billboards trumpet consumerism. Newsstand headlines are "cold" and "loud and sharp." Words from passersby sound "unhappy, frustrated, and impatient." But then, Jerome has an idea. "What if he could find a way to give the world the words it need[s]?" He goes home and combs through his collection of words he loves, printed on sunny yellow slips of paper, which readers of Reynolds' prior title about Jerome,The Word Collector (2018), will recognize. The papers end up festooned on the bare branches of a tree, which is decidedly not a traditional evergreen Christmas tree. Soon, a diverse group of community members gather and add words of their own. Hanging alongside strings of beads, the positive words and messages offer a vision of generosity, love, hope, and peace befitting the ideals of the holiday season, while Reynolds' spare illustrations brim with cheer and goodwill. Collect this one for the holiday bookshelf.(Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.