Listen
Listen - Front Cover
“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.”
That’s the first line I thought of after reading Listen by Gabi Snyder and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin.
Listen is a story about one day in the life of a little girl and how she listens to the busy world surrounding her.
Snyder takes all the noises and writes that we should actually listen to each sound individually, not tune it out or seek out soothing sounds.
“But what if you stop, close your eyes, and LISTEN?
Can you hear each sound?”
Try it out. It works. When we pick out each individual sound rather than taking them all in at once there’s a peace or an order to the noise. We can hear the reason behind each woof, beep, and vroom.
After a walk along the busy streets and sidewalks we are now at school with our main character and she invites us to listen to the call from across the playground. There are also words that build each other up and words that tear us apart; however, there are also words that help put ourselves back together again. It’s in the listening though that we can learn what others are feelings. Even their silence tells us something if we’re truly listening.
“Listen past the NOISE. . . .
What can you hear?”
School is out and we follow our main character back home and this time her focus is on nature around her - the rain, the breeze. Once she returns home there is a natural hush to her word, but there are still sounds to listen to -
“Rumble of belly.
Whoosh of breath.
Can you hear the voice inside you?”
The day ends with the quietness of goodnight and the city around her home tucking itself in for the night.
I truly loved this book and it wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be about! Always a pleasant surprise. Most “noise” books want us to block out the noise or even to hide inside your own head, in your happy place, or even to find a hiding place away from it all. This story tells us that there is happiness amongst all the sound if we just listen. We must remember that hearing is different from listening. One thing that Snyder does is teach us this very lesson through her story, but also in her backmatter. She teaches us about listening. It is a skill, you know. As a parent of four, I hear a whole lot of noise, all day long, but if I’m really listening I can distinctly hear each child and learn if it’s a happy yelp or a cry for help. I also like that Snyder takes us from inanimate sound, to words (the part where they’re listening to the teacher read a story is my favorite - both the words and the illustration!), to nature sounds, to our own body sounds, and ends with the sweet goodnights from parent to child.
I hope you add Listen to your to-be-read stack for summer reading and include it on your Book Bingo Board for the Summer Read Aloud Challenge!
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