The Word Dancer

“‘One word,' thought Wynnfrith, ‘cannot ever really describe a person. One word is never enough.'“

The Word Dancer is a darling of a book! I didn't expect to be swept away by a middle grade book as quickly as I was, yet once I sat down to start it, I had no choice but to read the entire story in one sitting! It feels so much like a fairytale; with the way it's written, the fast pace of the story, the bite-sized chapters, the witty dialogue, and the almost parable style of presenting greater themes just felt so familiar and cozy. The writing style instantly transports you into their world. 

Wynnfrith reminded me of Wendy, from Peter Pan, in how she spoke with fantastic patience to young Prince Oliver (very similarly to Wendy talking to the Lost Boys). I loved the way the characters spoke to each other in that fairytale style of dialogue. And on the note of dialogue, I was in stitches at some of the comments. Mistress Peache... you have to meet her! She's a top tier character.

The theme of how powerful words are was stunningly entwined throughout the story. There were so many instances where a scene or a conversation would have made a great lesson companion for kids; and I think that parable style of storytelling is why the messages worked so well with this story. Teachers, you need to this one! 

“‘A word has not the power to fright,' he said, ‘for it only has the power you give it. Little Lass, let your fearsome words fall as dry leaves.'“ 

My one caution towards this book is that there is a lot of name-calling between the “good guys” and “bad guys”. There's nothing that I flagged as inappropriate, most of the name-calling is pretty hysterical and primarily made-up words and phrases; however, if you've got a youngster who has a name-calling habit that you're trying to break, be aware that this one has a doozy of fun phrases that might be repeated (seriously, I want to start using some of these and I'm a mature adult). 

And I can't close this review without a nod to the wisest king there ever was. Below, my favorite quote from The Word Dancer: 

“You see, a prison was never needed nor ever used when King Goodliwink reigned. Instead, he used his little dungeon to store his overflow of books.”

Content disclaimers: Some mention of grossness (snot, pimples, spit, etc) from the villains. Some mention of spooks and nightmares, not graphic. Some mention of loss of parents.