The Old Woman Who Named Things - Cynthia Rylant

When I heard I had to read two picturebooks by Cynthia Rylant, I thought the choice would be easy. "No one could have written that many picturebooks," I thought to myself. However, I was wrong. Because when I went to find merely two picturebooks by Cynthia Rylant, I was caught in a sea of choices and quickly realized that Cynthia Rylant has written more than 100 books for children in her lifetime. How was I simply supposed to choose two out of 100 on Amazon to order? I settled down with one to start - The Old Woman Who Named Things and the beauty that Rylant used to delve into a sad and somewhat depressing issue was incredibly impressive.

Although the book is entitled The Old Woman Who Named Things, ironically enough, the old woman is never designated with a name. But somehow, that makes the story more relatable, more personal, and makes me think that that was a strategic move on Cynthia Rylant's part. That move makes each individual reader feel as if the old woman could be anyone - a great-grandmother, an older woman you know in your church congregation, or a family friend - not just one specific person.


Tackling a subject matter like outliving all of your friends (because you're simply so old that all of them have died) isn't an easy one. And it most definitely isn't an easy one to tackle in a children's picturebook. But Rylant does it with ease - and makes each reader want to name the things in their life and appreciate the "relationships" they have with their own Betsys, Franklins, Roxannes, and Freds, but also truly value the personal relationships that they have as well.


My favorite part of the picturebook is the personal transition that we see the old woman go through - from being a person who strives to actively not make relationships with living things to being a person who travels outside of her comfort zone and becomes vulnerable in her relationship with a puppy. I can imagine what a sentimental attachment early elementary school students could form with the old lady in the book, and this book has the potential to be one that is so loved that the pages are tattered and dogeared with love.