I Go Quiet

Book excerpt: An introverted young girl finds her voice through reading and the power of imagination in this stunning debut picture book. How do you find your voice, when no one seems to be listening? In David Ouimet’s spellbinding debut, a young girl struggles to make herself heard, believing she is too insignificant and misunderstood to communicate with the people in her life. Anxious about how she thinks she should look and speak, the girl stays silent, turning to books to transport her to a place where she is connected to the world, and where her words hold power. As she soon discovers, her imagination is not far from reality, and the girl realizes that when she is ready to be heard, her voice will ring loud and true. Ouimet’s stirring and haunting illustrations masterfully capture how it feels to be a lonely, self-conscious child unsure of how to claim a space in the world.