The Sound of Colors: A Journey of the Imagination
Grade 1-5–A young girl's eyesight began slipping away a year ago. With her white cane in hand, she ventures on a subway trip using her imagination to take herself and readers on a journey. Waiting for the train, I start to wonder if all the subway tracks in the world join together. Then where would I go? She reveals what she sees in her mind's eye as she explores and discovers the world around her. She watches clouds change shape while resting on the back of a whale. She dreams of dolphins and learning their language and the sea's secrets. Poetic, lyrical language is used in this translation from Chinese. The girl is strong and admirable, and while readers empathize with her disability, they will rejoice in her independence and imagination, considering what is real and what is possible. Liao's watercolor illustrations invite readers to take time, slow down, and pore over the details. Children might imagine what it would be like to be sightless, but the story will inspire them to use their own senses with more clarity as they look at their own surroundings, even the most familiar ones.–Helen Foster James, University of California at San DiegoCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.