Review by Booklist Review
A cheerful, perceptive child helps her initially dismissive grandma hear the cadence of the city in this exuberant story with excellent disability representation. Bundled up over fancy dresses, Emmalene and her Grandma Jean cross town on a bus one Sunday morning, hurrying to get to church. "Tickets BEE-BEEPED! Shoes CLICKITY-CLOMPED. RUMBLE went the engine in a rollicking romp." Emmalene hears music all around her, whereas busy Grandma Jean hears only city noise, even after Emmalene's chiding. Only once Emmalene covers her grandma's eyes--artistically achieved through a powerful palette shift--can Jean hear the city's song. The cheery and dynamic digital artwork highlights the noises so vibrantly described through onomatopoeic text, while undulating waves of color follow joyous Emmaline throughout the story. Although no direct mention of her disability is made in the text, illustrations show Emmalene reading Braille and using an all-white cane throughout, implying that she is either completely blind or adjusting to blindness. Bernstrom (One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree, 2016), himself high-functioning Blind, has crafted such a technically complex story that it would do this book a disservice not to read it aloud. Emphatic lettering will help guide an effective effort, especially in light of the many rhythmic shifts, slant rhymes, and syncopation in the text. A singsongy storytime delight with most welcome and empowering representation.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Using a white cane, a blind child named Emmalene, who cues as Black, navigates her city home with her distracted grandmother, describing "a sing-along song,/ a busy city symphony" en route to church. Lively rhymes by Bernstrom (Big Papa and the Time Machine) emphasize the musicality of all Emmalene hears on the Sunday morning trip: as Emmalene and her grandmother head to the bus, Emmalene asks her grandma, "Did you hear that pretty ditty?" But Grandma Jean doesn't appreciate the same sounds: "What you're hearing is commotion./ Oh, my child, what a notion!/ That is traffic you are hearing, not a song." When Grandma Jean prefers the church's choir to the "backhoe drumming... city sirens humming... clap-clap-clapping of the pitter-patting rain," Emmalene conveys frustration until, finally, Grandma Jean sits down in a pew and promises to listen: "The song and city filled Grandma Jean's ears." In blocks of color reminiscent of stained glass, illustrations by Mohammed (Super Mom) emphasize robust motion and reverberating sounds, centering the way Emmalene perceives the world--dogs barking, a bus engine rumbling, a marching band marching, and more--combining with onomatopoeic text to create an adventurous symphony for the senses. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. Illustrator's agent: Christy Ewers, CAT Agency. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Emmalene and Grandma Jean, who are both Black, are dressed in their Sunday best and take the bus to church. Joy written across her face, "Emmalene heard a sing-along song, a busy city symphony that followed her along!" While Emmalene, who is blind and uses a white, black-tipped cane, is entranced by the sounds of the city, Grandma Jean is too busy to listen. Smiling, Emmalene, a few skin tones darker than her grandmother, only slumps into despondency when they sit in the church pew, frustrated by Grandma Jean's unwillingness or inability to understand her. When Grandma agrees to try--and Emmalene covers Grandma Jean's eyes--a remarkable thing happens: "I hear your song." Mohammed cleverly renders sound with colorful abstract and representative shapes against a black background. Sound words are incorporated into the illustrations, with color, size, and case all contributing to the meaning. The story is filled with onomatopoeia and told in rhyme that doesn't stick to a strict scheme but is nevertheless purely delightful to read aloud. VERDICT This would make a wonderful story time with Elizabeth Bluemle's Tap Tap, Boom Boom or Colleen AF Venable's The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom; a first purchase.--Jenny Arch
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A blind girl endeavors to share her musical perception of city sounds. When Emmalene and Grandma Jean set out one Sunday, Emmalene rejoices at the "busy city symphony" that surrounds them as Bernstrom imbues his rhythmically rhyming text with exuberant onomatopoeia. There's the "RUMBLE" of the bus, the "BIPPITY-BOP!" of a nearby marching band, and the "tippity-tapping" of the wind. But to impatient Grandma Jean, the sounds are mere "commotion"; for her, music is the church choir's "loud and joyous" song. When Emmalene becomes frustrated that Grandma Jean doesn't understand, Grandma Jean valiantly tries to hear from her perspective. But only after Emmalene covers Grandma Jean's eyes does Grandma Jean finally hear her song; in kaleidoscopically colored text against black background, "acorns ticked. A backhoe WRECKED. A truck HARRUMPHED. And birds peck-pecked." Emmalene and a tearful Grandma Jean embrace, and together they listen to the city's "CLAPPING / FLAPPING / tippity-tapping" tune. Mohammed's bright, bold illustrations vividly animate the bustling city, and Emmalene's and Grandma Jean's expressions are endearing; their love is palpable. Though Grandma Jean's poignant epiphany echoes the trope of a disabled character imparting a lesson to a nondisabled character, the potentially off-key note is offset by the heartwarming portrayal of Emmalene and her grandma's intergenerational bonding. Grandma Jean and Emmalene present Black with light- and dark-brown skin respectively. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An eye-catching, toe-tapping celebration of the melodies in everyday sounds. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
