Book review: Finn & his river of words

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Sarah Moriarty from our volunteer review team shares her thoughts on Finn and his River of Words, written by Robin Ashlin and aimed at children aged 5-9.

Finn and his River of Words is a new book about a boy who loves spending time by the river but worries about speaking because he stammers. It's part of a wider collection of eight picture books from the Built for Big Things series by author Robin Ashlin that celebrates the different ways children experience the world. For example, ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety and in this case, stammering.

I want to start by sharing exactly why I think this book is great — stammering isn't portrayed as something to be 'fixed' but instead is acknowledged as Finn's experience of communicating. Sometimes his speech flows smoothly like a river, and sometimes it encounters obstacles that his words have to move around – like water passing by pebbles and stones, to carry on with the analogy.

There are of course strategies and tools for Finn and the people around him to use, to support his communication, but Finn's acknowledgement and acceptance of stammering is something we need to see more of in children's books.

It's a reassuring and supportive resource to share with young children who may stammer or know someone who stammers.

The story itself is told from Finn's point of view and the author does a great job of capturing the voice of a young child. Particularly the heaviness felt from the emotional stress of being in a pressured speaking environment such as school. Following a show-and-tell that didn't go the way he wanted, Finn slowly becomes quieter and quieter. Not because he has nothing to say but because of the pressure he feels to talk fluently.

But with support from his best friend and a Speech & Language Therapist, who explains what stammering is and how common it is, Finn begins to build his confidence. This isn't a story about fixing stammering but helping Finn's words flow so that he can say everything he wants to say. And Finn has a lot to say!

Strong imagery comparing Finn's speech to a river is used consistently throughout the book, and complemented by warm, gentle images that will appeal to younger readers and support their understanding of Finn's experiences. Whilst the book is recommended for children aged 5-9, I'd suggest it would be helpful to break the book into smaller chunks for younger readers.

Overall, Finn and his River of Words is a 10/10 choice for me. It's a reassuring and supportive resource to share with young children who may stammer or know someone who stammers, as it focuses on understanding and accepting stammering to support overall communication.

Finn and his River of Words is a self-published book by Robin Ashlin and is available to buy from Amazon. 

Thank you to Sarah Moriarty for reviewing this book. Sarah is the founder of SLCN Stories, a website sharing inclusive stories aimed at raising awareness and supporting children with speech, language and communication needs.

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