Noah Webster and His Words

Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction

Webster's American Dictionary is the second most popular book ever printed in English. But who was that Webster? Noah Webster (1758-1843) was a bookish Connecticut farm boy who became obsessed with uniting America through language. He spent twenty years writing two thousand pages to accomplish that, and the first 100 percent American dictionary was published in 1828 when he was seventy years old. This clever, hilariously illustrated account shines a light on early American history and the life of a man who could not rest until he'd achieved his dream. An illustrated chronology of Webster's life makes this a picture perfect bi-og-ra-phy noun: a written history of a person's life].

Jeri Chase Ferris is the author of eleven biographies because she likes to set the record straight about people. She lives in California. Visit her website at www.jerichaseferris.com.

Vincent X. Kirsch is an author-illustrator who lives in New York City and likes to draw egg-headed, spindly-legged people from the past. Visit his website at www.vincentxkirsch.com.