Olivia’s Voice

I initially had another book to share with you today, but at work yesterday I came across a beautiful gem of a book and I just knew that I had to share it.  I feel like it is a work of art and words that need to be shared, I wish I could share the whole book with you but that would not be fair to the author. So, enjoy what I can share with you.

Olivia’s Voice by Mike Lucas
Illustrated by Jennifer Harrison
Published by MidnightSun Publishing
Date: March 2017

Listen. What do you hear?

The first words in the book are on a blank page and they instantly awakened my senses and curiosity saw me turning to the next page.

“Today I woke up to the silence of a new morning.”

The next page, I literally had a small gasp and a large smile as the beautiful illustrations greeted me. From this moment I knew I was hooked, that beautiful beaming face that is Olivia, and the beautiful morning greeting the reader through the curtains.

Each page saw the illustrations engaging me, the tall tree on the following page and more of Olivia’s smiles. This book was definitely written to engage the sense just as Olivia’s senses are everyday.

As I continued to flip through the book, I began to realise that Olivia couldn’t hear with he ears, but she could hear with her other senses. Seeing her friends changing mouth shapes and talkative eyes is how she hears. Her teacher saying her name directly to her is how she hears, playing the drums and feeling the beat, her school day just the same as her friends but just without sound as a hearing person knows it.

Olivia, experiences the world the same as you or I, seeing the beauty around her and at night when she sleeps…

…the sounds come alive.

Do I recommend this book? YES absolutely YES, it is beautiful and shares Olivia’s story that heightens the senses. I feel that this book is equally engaging for children as it is for an adult. The illustrations have had so much work put into them and are fully delightful. There is nothing I do not like about this book and it is one I want to get now for my storytime collection.

I am glad I stumbled upon this book and that I got to hear Olivia’s voice and that I got to learn that we can “hear” a lot around us without our hearing.