"The entire poem presented,
without pause or repetition.
His resonant voice heard
for the first time at school.
The students cascaded into applause!"
Reading aloud at school was James' worst nightmare. Although he knew he could read the words on the page, his words got stuck inside and he found it impossible to speak. His memories of other times when his classmates laughed did not help make it any easier.
When he spent time in the barn at home, 'his words flowed'. The animals loved to listen to his voice. As he grew older, nothing much changed. His stuttering made it uncomfortable when meeting visitors. Urged by his parents to be polite, James could not force the words out of his mouth. Those encounters led to James making the decision to just stop talking.
"No more sharing ideas.
His emotions stuck inside.
If he didn't talk,
he wouldn't stutter.
So James listened."
That listening led to much learning and less anguish for the young James. In high school he met Professor Crouch, a teacher who loved poetry. James loved listening to him recite his favorite poems, while encouraging his students to memorize poems and say them out loud. That was not going to happen with James.
In a surprising twist, the story turns to the arrival of grapefruit during one winter. It was the inspiration for James to put pen to paper and write a poem, Ode to Grapefruit. When Professor Crouch read it, he encouraged James to say it aloud to the class. For the first time, James spoke clearly and without pause. His classmates honored his effort with a round of applause.
It was the beginning of a long and celebrated life, and an almost seventy-year acting career.
Striking illustrations, done in collage and watercolor, assure understanding and compassion for James' struggles and successes. Notes from both author and illustrator, information about stuttering, and a list of selected resources are included in back matter.
James Earl Jones died in September this year. His legacy lives on in Mustafa, Darth Vader, and his many other important roles and accomplishments.
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