Middle Grade · Ages 8–12
Playing by Ear.
About the book
A girl who hears more than she says learns that listening is its own kind of language.
Edie listens for a living, or that’s how it feels. She hears her parents through the wall. She hears the kid at school who is too loud because he is afraid of being unheard. She hears the music in her grandmother’s kitchen long after the radio is turned off.
When her family’s old piano needs a new home, Edie discovers that being a good listener and finding her own voice are not opposites — they are the same long, careful sentence.
Themes- Finding your voice
- Family & memory
- Music as language
- Friendship
- Listening as love
Particularly strong for classrooms exploring identity, empathy, and the difference between hearing and listening. Suggested grades 4–7. Discussion guide available on the For Educators page.
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ISBN forthcoming · Published by Gilberton Publisher · 272 pages
“She did not play music. She translated the room into it.”
— Chapter 3