A Sound of Leaves - Hardcover

Grade 2-4?Grandpa, Mom, Sylvie, and her younger brother step out of a taxi and into a whole new world of sand and sun for a one-week vacation. Nine-year-old Sylvie, a thoughtful and observant child, feels overwhelmed by strangeness until she hears the comforting sound of leaves coming from just outside her new bedroom window. She is so fascinated by the natural wonders of the place that she offers to keep the household running after her mother is laid up by a minor accident. As the week unfolds, Sylvie meets a local girl named Clair, and the two take the first tentative steps toward friendship. Then she overhears Clair's friends call her a slum kid. At first, Sylvie is hurt, but gradually she realizes that fear and strangeness caused their reaction. She once again approaches Clair, and they start over. Blegvad's economical yet beautiful handling of language and theme set this beginning novel apart. The author employs a strong sense of rhythm, lovely descriptive phrases, and unusual metaphors to convey the place, characters, and plot. For her theme, she builds on every child's need for acceptance to reach for a broader understanding of tolerance. Short chapters, a simple text, and abundant illustrations make this exceptional little book accessible to beginning chapter book readers; an even wider audience will appreciate hearing it read aloud.?Maggie McEwen, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, ME
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A moody, bittersweet novella about the difficulties of Sylvie's family in their first outing away from the city, to a cousin's vacant house at the beach. For Sylvie and her brother, Dell, it is strange to be anywhere other than in their apartment, especially without her father, who has to work that week. None of them is familiar with the country--with trees, a backyard that is creepy and overgrown, picnics--and Sylvie's mother is injured on the first day. Those troubles pale, though, when Sylvie is dismissed by the local children as ``some little slum kid.'' The crux of this gentle story, told from Sylvie's naive perspective, is not her defiance of prejudice, but her recognition that she would have likely behaved the same way if the situation were reversed. Blegvad (Anna Banana and Me, 1985, etc.) has created an offbeat, lyrical story--with little action and a mild resolution--that will need a little booktalking to find its audience. The understated message, however, that prejudice is seldom solely the province of the hateful, is well worth the effort. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 8-11) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.