Into a world where it often seems nobody is listening comes a poignant story that celebrates the power of silence.

“Why are you so quiet?” Her teacher implores it, her classmates shout it, even her mom wonders it. Everyone, it seems, is concerned for Myra Louise. So, in search of an answer to the tiresome question nobody will stop asking, she invents a listening machine. If the raindrops, or the crickets, or the dryers at the laundromat can tell her why they’re so quiet, maybe Myra Louise can finally make everybody understand. But the more she listens, the less interested she becomes in finding any answer at all. Because Myra Louise comes to realize that all she really needs is someone else to listen alongside her.

With gorgeous illustrations from Risa Hugo, Jaclyn Desforges’s first picture book champions introversion and the value of being a listener, a thinker, and an observer in our increasingly loud world.

Jaclyn Desforges is a Pushcart-nominated poet and the author of a picture book, Why Are You So Quiet? (Annick Press, 2020). She’s the winner of the 2018 RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award, two 2019 Short Works Prizes, and the 2020 Hamilton Emerging Artist Award for Writing. Jaclyn’s work has been featured in Room Magazine, THIS Magazine, The Fiddlehead, The Puritan, Contemporary Verse 2 and others. Currently, she works on the editorial board of the Hamilton Review of Books as Poetry Reviews Editor, and is a creative writing MFA candidate at the University of British Columbia. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her partner and daughter.

Jaclyn Desforges' profile page

Risa Hugo is a Canadian illustrator with a bachelor of fine arts and major in illustration from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is the illustrator of Why Are You So Quiet? (Annick, 2020). Risa spent most of her childhood living in Japan but currently lives in Vancouver with her husband and their son who loves to dance.

Risa Hugo's profile page

“A delightful read.”

BuzzBees Book Reviews, 07/21/20

“The illustrations are charming and beautifully done. The book is a tender challenge for children (and adults also) to be silent observant listeners too. Take heed . . . the world has lots to teach us in its silence! I highly recommend this book. Well done!”

Storywraps, 06/16/20