Review by Booklist Review
On a summer evening in 1930s Brooklyn, a young hearing boy enjoys a special evening with his profoundly deaf parents. They ride a Coney Island roller coaster, stroll the boardwalk, enjoy a meal at their favorite Chinese restaurant, stop at the library, and finally take in the fireworks near their home. Throughout, the boy is acutely aware of his role as sound interpreter for his parents. Uhlberg, who covered similar ground in his adult memoir Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love (2009), writes knowingly of the distinctly separate hearing and deaf worlds in which he grew up and his difficulties learning to describe the nuances of the noises all around him. Papoulas' gouache-and-acrylic paintings brim with period details, and the use of sepia tones helps to convey the historic setting. Two related picture books that feature deaf protagonists navigating the hearing world are The Printer (2003) and Dad, Jackie, and Me (2005), both by Uhlman.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Based on Uhlberg's childhood as the hearing son of two deaf parents, this picture book follows a family through a day in 1930s Coney Island. Opening as father and son plummet "down the shaking mountain" of a roller coaster, the story exudes familial tenderness as the boy and his parents stroll the boardwalk, gaze at the ocean, and eat at their favorite Chinese restaurant. Throughout the day, the boy's father asks him to describe the sounds he cannot hear-a ritual that annoys the boy occasionally, but that he grows to appreciate, especially after he discovers a book of poetry at the library, full of verbal imagery he can share with his father. Painted in lush acrylic and gouache, newcomer Papoulas's illustrations are a love letter to Coney Island at its heyday, the period clothing and gleaming buildings placing readers in the thick of the crowds. While the exchanges between father and son form the heart of the story, Uhlberg (A Storm Called Katrina) also describes, sensitively and powerfully, how the man uses all of his senses to better understand sound. Ages 6-10. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-Set in 1930s Brooklyn, this remembrance by the author provides a sentimental view of a hearing child growing up with deaf parents. The story describes one day at Coney Island when the family rides a roller-coaster and the father begs his son to tell him how the wheels of the coaster sound. As they walk along the boardwalk, the father also asks about the sound of the ocean waves, and the boy tries his best to describe the sounds, but his answers feel too simplistic. He longs to express sounds to his father and mother but lacks the words. It is after a thoughtful librarian introduces the boy to poetry and "every word I would ever need" (author's note) that the boy feels he can capture the sounds that his parents would never hear. This picture book is an emotional experience, replete with stunning imagery of the roller-coaster, arcades, and boardwalk of Coney Island; the spectacle of the evening fireworks; and the innocence of a family sharing a hot summer day together. The artist's renderings of the period architecture and fashions of the day are portrayed in impressive gouache and acrylic, just indistinct enough to suggest a memory. Extensive author and illustrator notes complete this lovely tribute to a bygone era and a boy's commemoration of his parents. VERDICT A pleasant addition to any library and a lovely gift book.-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Uhlberg draws from his experiences with his deaf parents for this tale of mid-20th-century Brooklyn. "Many things are loud. Please tell me better," the narrator's father asks. Thus the son of deaf parents finds himself interpreting not only language, but sound itself. His father, who retains faint memories of hearing, insists that his son's descriptions enable him to hear "in [his] mind." But expressing something as abstract as sound is daunting for a child, as an outing to bustling Coney Island illustrates. Papoulas' vivid paintings animate the setting and sentiment with photographic attention to faces and period details, silently evoking a din of everyday noises that seems impossible to convey. The narrator's frustration evokes sympathy, his squinting concentration palpable as he signs the woefully inadequate "loud." Despite his frequent use of figurative languagea roller coaster is "like thunder," and ocean waves crash "like a hammer"he still doesn't have enough words. Finally, he asks a resourceful librarian for books on how to describe sound, and she returns with a promising volume of poetry. The narrator deftly and respectfully describes his conflicting feelings of love and resentment, sometimes envying other children who don't have to interpret for their fathers, but love wins out. Their affection for each other beams from their faces and hands. A tender demonstration of how familial love is like translationinexact, difficult, and beautiful. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
