Silence by Lena Shamshurina

 

"Shh ... I'm looking for silence. It must be lurking around here somewhere."

Silence can be hard to find during the day because there are so many sounds in the city. Perhaps it will be easier at night. The illustration shows this is not easier - the fridge is humming, the clock is ticking, the tap is dripping and someone is snoring. (All of this reminded me of Peace at Last by Jill Murphy). There is no silence in the day and none at night in his house so the little boy sets off into the forest but your young reading companion is sure to anticipate that the forest will be full of noise which we once again see in the interesting black and white illustrations. An owl is hooting, a wolf is howling, and badger is chewing and even the blue bell flowers are going ting tinga ling. Next stop a cave but of course the echoes of the boys own footsteps and words fill this space with sound. He tries going underwater and then into outer space. Space! Finally, a place of silence.

This is a strange book and it is very expensive here in Australia (AUS$35) so perhaps it is just one you might explore in your local library rather than add it to your library collection. I did love the art and the 'silent pages' filled with images making sounds. Take a look at the Kirkus review. I also enjoy the interactive moment at the end of the book where you are invited to run your finger across the page to hear the way this book makes sounds too. 

Bookseller blurb: In this beautifully designed high-concept picture book, an unnamed narrator invites readers on a journey to find the secrets held by silence. Whether it's the echoes in an underground cave, whales singing in the ocean, or even your own stomach gurgling - readers will discover the secret sounds surrounding us, and how even the places where we might expect to find silence are not quiet at all. As the initial hunt for silence turns into a thoughtful, clever examination of sound and space, this engaging story encourages participation and careful observation of the world around us. Filled with evocative black and white illustration and quirky details that will reward multiple readings, this is a title that will inspire discussion - and makes a great bedtime read aloud too.

See inside this book here. 

Lena Shamshurina is an illustrator & author based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han

The world is never quiet. Adults are talking, clocks are ticking, even the 'fridge is not silent. Lewis is surrounded by sounds indoors while he waits for his mum there are more sounds outdoors as they walk along a busy city street to catch the bus. They climb aboard and the hum of the bus engine nearly lulls Lewis to sleep until ...

A flat tyre! POP!

Lewis has his device which usually distracts him but out in the countryside it stops working (thank goodness) and so Lewis sets off to explore.

"The more he listens the more he hears. And the more he wants to see."

He hears the birds and insects. He hears an owl and a possum. He hears the splash of the fish in the creek and the ribbit ribbit of some frogs. It sure is noisy out here in nature.

"The night sounds become a song."

Finally, a new bus arrives, and everyone climbs on board, but Lewis is no longer tired. His mind replays all the wonderful sounds of nature all the way home.

You could easily share this book as part of a mini theme on listening, nighttime and the sounds of nature. Check out this post or type any of these titles at the bottom of this post into my side bar. If you read this book with your own children it would be fabulous to go outside and listen to all the night noises. You could also do this in the daytime to compare. In our city we have a display of hanging bird cages with electronic bird sounds - they change over the day to match when you would actually hear these birds in a forest. Strangely even though it is just a series of recordings it is a magical place right in the centre of the city.

Can I just also say NOTHING beats actually doing something relating to the book you are enjoying either with your young reading companion or even your class. I was talking with a friend today. Our NSW schools are killing books in their classrooms with over analysis. In the book read by this group - Storm Boy by Colin Thiele - the word tussock is used. Surely instead of spending an hour analyzing this word it would be way better to just head outside and look at some clumps of grass. Also, I am sure the wonderful illustrator Robert Ingpen shows readers exactly what this looks like around the sand dunes which are the setting of this famous Australian book.

Here are some other books to read alongside Nightsong.

Night Lunch

Sally Soweol Han won the CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) New Illustrator award for her book Tiny Wonders.

Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin

Told almost entirely in sound words, this day-in-the-life look at firefighters and their fire truck will appeal to the youngest vehicle enthusiasts and to parents with a penchant for exuberant read-aloud sessions. With art reminiscent of Donald Crews’s transportation books, Mike Austin evokes the excitement of a 911 call as we follow firefighters sliding down the fire pole, racing through town, and up the ladder truck.

Sticky tape? I imagine, unless you are a teacher-librarian or a archivist you probably don't have strong opinions about sticky tape but this can be a very hot topic in a school library. I volunteer at an amazing school library (one of the best in Australia) and a couple of weeks ago this book - Fire Engine No. 9 was returned. The baby in the family had ripped many of the pages.  The class teacher correctly asked the parent not to attempt any repairs. BUT alas the parent went crazy with her sticky tape! Sticky tape!  In a library we use very special tape which doesn't bleed, crumble, discolour or wreck a perfectly good book. 

The library staff were so upset. This book is a favourite with the youngest preschool children and it is regularly included as a read aloud so I offered to source a replacement. The 'new' copy arrived today. Fire Engine No. 9 was first published in 2015. The board book edition is still available but the library wanted the full size hardcover. I do love using Better World Books.  This copy of Fire Engine No. 9 is slightly damaged - there are some tiny tears on a couple of pages - but I know the skilled library staff can easily administer their repair kit and this book will once again look almost new. 

Take a look at Mike Austin's web pages and  flick through his illustrations - they are so fabulous. There are more here.  You can see inside Fire Engine No. 9 here but if you can get your hands on the actual book please use it as a read aloud - it will be a way better experience than using a video. It is especially fun when the book turns length-ways.

Other fire engine books that will be in your school or local library which are perfect to share with preschool children:

Here is the sequel to Fire Engine No. 9 and Mike has another book about first responders.

Sonam and the Silence by Eddie Ayres illustrated by Ronak Taher

Powerful, emotional and stunningly beautiful. 

A picture book not easily forgotten.  Kids' Book Review

Music is forbidden, but that's when we need it most. 

But you can only hear music if you listen 

with all your heart. page 10

I am going to begin talking about this book by focusing on the musical instrument played by Sonam. There are much deeper themes in this book but I was so interested to make some discoveries about the rubab.  At the back of Sonam and the Silence book Eddie Ayres, who works for ABC Radio, says:

"Just think, without the rubab we wouldn't have the violin."

These words lingered with me long after reading this book, as did many other aspects of this moving and important story.

I have done a little preliminary research about the rubab. First off there are a few different spellings depending on where the instrument is found - rubab, rabab and rebab. The instrument that predates our modern violin was played with a bow. You can see it in action here. The original rubab comes from Afghanistan, it is a lute-like instrument and the word rebab means "played with a bow."

Music is all around us in the modern world. In supermarkets, in cars, through headphones on a bus, at concerts and in homes but in Afghanistan in from 1996 until 2002 music was prohibited. Eddie Ayres arrived in Kabul in 2015 to work at the National School of Music. This story of Sonam and her discovery of the power of music was inspired by his real life viola student.

When Sonam turns seven she must cover her hair and go off to work selling chewing gum to people travelling in cars. These are dangerous and desperate times. The market place is loud and noisy but amid all this Sonam hears a sound "that seems to come from the trees, from the earth, from the heart. A whisper."  She follows the thread of sound and finds an old man sitting under some trees - pomegranate and mulberry trees. In his hands he is holding a rubab.

"Music. This is what nobody in her country is allowed to hear. This sound which makes Sonam feel she is both up amongst the stars and deeper than than the tree roots, this is music."

The old man gives Sonam the instrument he played as a child. It is carved from a single piece of mulberry wood. Hearing the music, playing the music, gives Sonam hope and happiness but this is short lived. Her brother discovers her secret. He needs to protect Sonam. He takes away her rubab and forbids her to sing or hum. Sonam has lost her protection from the world. She becomes sad and withdrawn. Finally she decides to go back to the garden where she met the old man. He is gone but there is a  piece of fruit on the pomegranate tree. She gathers the seeds and goes home to plant them. Digging in her own yard she makes an amazing discovery. There is a wooden box hidden under the earth. It is her rubab.

I have found two very different sets of teachers notes for this book. Both are well worth exploring and will give you deeper insights into the themes and illustrations in Sonam and the Silence.

• Allen and Unwin notes
• Children's Books Daily notes

Magpies magazine volume 34, issue 1, March 2019 contains a wonderful interview with Eddie Ayres and Ronak Taher by Joy lawn. I was amazed to discover Eddie and Ronak have never met although did extensively collaborate on this book. Sonam and the Silence is an important book and an emotional and uplifting story. This book is one of the twenty CBCA Picture book of the Year Notable titles for 2019. Surely it must be selected for the CBCA Short list (announced 26th March). I would share this book with a group of older Primary students but it is included on the Grades 3 and 4 Premier's Reading Challenge list.

There is also an iTunes ebook version of Sonam and the Silence.

You could follow Sonam and the Silence with Ada's Violin by Susan Hood, Silence by Lemniscates or for an older class The Red Piano by Andre Leblanc.

Image source: https://glamadelaide.com.au/book-review-sonam-and-the-silence-by-eddie-ayers/

The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito illustrated by Julia Kuo

It was between and underneath every sound.

And it had been there all along.

Ma

silence.

Yoshio lives in Tokyo. He meets a musician and asks "do you have a favourite sound?"  The musician says the most beautiful sound is the sound of ma, the sound of silence. 

Yoshio listens to all the sounds in this busy city. The traffic, boots splashing through puddles, rain on umbrellas, the wind in the bamboo, the whoosh of the bullet train and even the sound of chopsticks, slurping and chewing dinner with his family. Finally Yoshio goes to bed but even that is not quiet as there is a radio playing in the background. The next morning Yoshio heads off to school. He arrives very early. Inside he sits at his desk and reads a book.

"Suddenly in the middle of a page, he hear it.
No sounds, no footsteps, no people chattering, no radios, no bamboo, no kotos being tuned.
In that short moment, Yoshio couldn't even hear the sound of his own breath."

The splendid school library I visit each week like to add stickers to the front cover of their books for all sorts of book awards from around the world.  This book had an award I had not seen before. The Sound of Silence was shortlisted for the Red Dot Book award 2017-2018. This award started in 2009 and is awarded through voting by school libraries in Singapore.

Past winners which I have mentioned on this blog:

2016-7 Picture book shortlist On Sudden Hill; Younger Readers winner Diva and Flea; Older Readers winner The Thing about Jellyfish.

2015-6 Younger readers winner Pigsticks and Harold.

2014-5 Older Readers The Fourteenth Goldfish, 3rd Place Rooftoppers.

The 2018-19 award will be presented in May 2019.  I spied The elephant and Juana and Lucas on the Younger Readers list and Tin and The Goldfish boy on the Older Readers list.

I would pair The Sound of Silence with The Sound of Colours and Silence by Lemniscates. Take time to read this detailed review in Horn Book which explains the way the illustrator has used colours to show the city noises. Listen to an excellent All the wonders Podcast  where you can hear the author and illustrator talking in depth about the processes and challenges of creating this book. You can see some pages from the illustrator of The Sound of Silence here.

An inviting tale that will stretch inquisitive and observant young minds—and may even lead children to a greater appreciation of that golden commodity, silence. Kirkus

Ida, Always by Caron Levis and Charles Santoso

Oddly I am going to tell you to begin by reading the back cover of this utterly exquisite picture book Ida, Always.

"I am in awe of this wise, endearing, tender, and beautiful - so very beautiful - book, which is sure to become a classic of children's literature ... the words and pictures meld perfectly to explore the emotional journey of love and loss, 

breaking your heart and then beginning to mend it."

Judith Viorst

Read this comment slowly again.  Meld is the perfect word to describe the way the gentle illustrations and text work together.  The emotional journey of Gus is the heart of this tender story.  The way a broken heart can mend is the important message of hope you will find at the end.

Gus and Ida live in the zoo in Central Park in the busy New York city. The story is based on two real polar bears who did really live in this zoo.  One day Ida does not emerge from her night den.  The keeper explains to Gus that Ida is ill and may die soon.

I love this moment of humour in the face of their deep sadness :

"Wherever I go' said Ida, 'I  bet I'll always smell your fishy breath.'  That made Gus smile.  He wasn't sure if he should. But Ida was giggling, too."

The topic of this book is a difficult one.  Here is a pinterest collection of other books to explore from my friend at Kinderbooks.  Here is a teaching guide from the author web site.

This is a difficult story to tell for both children and adults, but “Ida, Always” does it with simplicity and grace.

Silence by Lemniscates

In our busy world it is good to find a book that demands quiet thought.  We have several books in our school library that fulfill this need and here is a new one Silence.

In the silence
I can hear waves crashing

My favourite lines are In Spring, I can hear bees loving flowers.

This book was created by Lemniscates which is an artist co-operative in Barcelona.  They aim to spark curiosity in children and encourage them to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

You might share this book at night when as a way to reflect on the day.  I also like What the Sky knows, What does Peace Feel like?, The Sound of Colors, If you listen by Charlotte Zolotow, The quiet book and How to by Julie Morstad.

We talk about mindfulness as an important strategy for mental health.  Books like Silence might be a good starting point with your young child.  Put away all devices and enjoy the special moments that come from sharing a special book.

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood illustrated by Renata Liwska

A few months ago a friend, who is also a bookseller, told me about The Quiet Book. The title only partly tells you about this special book. Inside it is truly magical.

It is a series of little scenes from early morning until late at night showing all the times we experience quiet and all the ways we experience it too.

Here are some :

Coloring in the lines quiet

Last one to get picked up from school quiet

Making a wish quiet

Best friends don’t need to talk quiet

Before the concert starts quiet

Story time quiet

Bedtime kiss quiet

“What flashlight?” quiet

Sound asleep quiet

The illustrations depict quirky little animals like bears, a porcupine, moose and rabbit all done in soft brown and grey tones with an occasional tiny touch of colour.

This book would make wonderful gift for a young child and it is a perfect book to share with that same young child either quietly or with some gentle conversation about each scene.

Stylish, funny, yet sympathetic, this should be a popular bedtime book. Quill and Quire

It is in our school library along with the companion volume The Loud Book. You might also enjoy The Important book and Another Important book by Margaret Wise Brown and If you listen by Charlotte Zolotow.