There is an abundance of good humor and information in this lavishly illustrated book.  Noah Webster's Blue-Backed Speller is a cheerful assortment of sentences that illustrate the rules of spelling.  It has been adapted for today's use by Barbara Cooney, whose illustrations for Chanticleer and the Fox won her the Caldecott Medal "for the most distinguished picture book of the year."

The 131 pictures drawn by Miss Cooney to accompany Webster's pithy sayings are as full of delight as the sentences themselves. 

"A dime is a small coin worth ten cents."
"When we are sick we take pills."
"Never whisper in company."
"One good action is worth many good thoughts."

In her enthusiasm for the pictures that these sentences brought to mind, Barbara Cooney never forgot the primary purpose of the book, and she has presented, in a handsome and methodical fashion, the basic sounds of our language.

Noah Webster's Blue-Backed Speller, like his great dictionary, is part of the American heritage.  Before it went out of general use, more than one hundred million copies of it were sold. With the Bible, it crossed the Alleghenies to the West, to be used in the homes and schoolrooms of a new and struggling country.

Now children can once again learn their vowels and consonants through Mr. Webster's helpful adages.  To quote Miss Cooney: "Some children may learn something of spelling from this new edition. Others may simply look at the pictures.  But many, I hope, will find the words of Noah Webster sticking to their ribs like good roast beef."

From the dust jacket