This lyrical and impressionistic picture book is both beautiful and sophisticated. The boy in the story (a true account of the experiences of the author as a serious stutterer) hears the words all around, but in many cases finds himself unable to speak them. Ps, Cs, and Ms cause particular problems: The P in pine tree grows roots inside my mouth and tangles my tongue.' Words stick in his throat, and so he stays silent unless he must talk. This is particularly difficult in school where sometimes children laugh and giggle at his attempts. On these days, these 'bad speech days', his dad often collects him from school and they go to the river. The river is his special place because dad has explained that his boy 'talks like a river', sometimes 'bubbling and whirling, churning and crashing' and sometimes 'smooth and glistening. He is able to think about his special place when faced with having to speak, and the author himself tells us in an 'afterward' that his dad 'gave image and language to talk bout something so private and terrifying.' The illustrations, soft and smudged tell us poignantly of the feelings in the lyrical text, and both together are highly memorable. Superb.