Song in the city by Daniel Bernstrom. Illus. by Jenin Mohammed

This exuberant story full of the noises heard in a city will impel readers to stop and listen for themselves. Emmalene and her Grandmother walk through the city, the young blind girl listening to the cacophony of sounds around her. The yip yap of the dog, tap of her mobility stick, screech of brakes, sizzles from the street food stall. She runs for the bus telling her Grandmother about the pretty ditty she can hear. Grandma is unimpressed, telling her it's not a song but a commotion of sound coming from the traffic.

But Emmalene persists. Telling Grandma Jean of the drumming, humming, clap clap clapping, toot tooting sounds that she hears. But the singing and ringing are not music to Grandma’s ears. Emmmalene sits her down and she listens. She hears the crying cat, the buzzing of the mobile phone, the shrieking of a siren. Emmalene puts her hands over Grandma’s eyes and in the dark she hears the sounds the city makes beyond the wrecking and the sirens, above the peck pecking of the birds. She hears the clapping, the rollicky romping, bopping, tippety tapping that the city makes.

Emmalene is thrilled that Grandma Jean can hear what she hears, the two experience something together, a joyous reminder of the link between generations. This is a meditative work, encouraging people to take time and listen. Just sitting and breathing deeply will cause the other senses to come into play, hearing the sounds around you with more clarity. A wonderful exercise to do in the classroom.

Readers will love taking up the rhythm of the story, intrigued by the rhymes offered, and the array of onomatopoeic words which exude fun and excitement. 

The bright illustrations present a disabled child in a positive light. She teaches her Grandmother to hear the things she can hear and impels readers to take more notice of what is around them. With her mobility stick and Grandma she is about to navigate the city she knows well. More about Jenin’s work can be found here and more about Daniel and his aim to bring joy filled books to readers, can be found here.

Themes: Africa, Village life, Families, Grandparents, Crops.

Fran Knight