Review - I Go Quiet

I Go Quiet
by David Ouimet
Date: 2020
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

How do you find your voice, when no one seems to be listening? 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.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I Go Quiet is a bit of a trippy picture book that's more suitable for older readers. While there's nothing inappropriate in it, the sentiments are complex and the largely monochrome illustrations might not be that appealing to young children.

This is a book about finding your unique voice in a world of conformity. It's also an homage to reading and expression through words. It's eerily dystopian, and one gets the impression of an oppressed populace (the children all wear mouse masks and large black birds hover ominously around the periphery).

I enjoyed this, even though I don't generally like picture books that seem to be aimed at older readers (and then shelved in the kids' section). But I think this could be a comforting and inspiring book for older kids (middle school and up) who are starting to discover their own uniqueness and are perhaps feeling different or misunderstood.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 5/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5