I Am Quiet: A Story for the Introvert in All of Us

by Andie Powers, Betsy Petersen (Illustrator)

Overview

Goodreads Best Children's Book of 2022
Kid's Indie Next List Pick

Emile is not shy—he is quiet.  
 
Emile may seem timid and shy on the outside, but on the inside he is bustling with imagination. While grownups and even other kids may see Emile as the shy kid who doesn’t raise his hand in class, we know that Emile is actually a high-seas adventurer, a daring explorer, and a friend to wild beasts.
 
This story honors and encourages the beauty of knowing ourselves for exactly who we are. Emile’s world shows us that the mind of a quiet child can be as rich, expansive, and bold as that of any other (more extroverted) child.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611809848
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	04/12/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,031,126
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

ANDIE POWERS is a writer for Bravery magazine (braverymag.com), an empowering educational magazine for children featuring a brave woman in each issue who has significantly impacted the world. Her love of children’s literature was kindled during a college internship at The Horn Book magazine. Since then, her work for children has been published by Root & Star, Brite Light, and Bravery, and her recent writing and social media work includes clients Red Cap Cards and Seattle's Child magazine. In 2016, she released an illustrated nonfiction crafting book, Print, Paint, and Ink: Over 20 Modern Craft Projects for You and Your Home, co-authored with Emily Grosse and published by Taunton.

BETSY PETERSEN is an artist, illustrator, and entrepreneur. She’s spent the past seven years building her own art business—collaborating with organizations such as Papyrus, Minnetonka, Childhoods Clothing, and Bravery magazine. You may have purchased or seen one of her amazing portraits, greeting-card designs, children’s clothing patterns, or another of her works. She is the co-author and illustrator of the forthcoming Happy Puppy, Angry Tiger (May 2021).

Editorial Reviews

03/07/2022

Powers’s children’s book debut begins by introducing readers to its introverted narrator, Emile, who immediately makes a clear distinction: “I am quiet. Grown-ups tell me, ‘Don’t be shy.’ But I am not shy. I AM QUIET.” Emile explains to readers that though “I am quiet on the outside... on the inside, my imagination shouts loudly and runs wild.” As Sir Emile, the armor-clad youth cavorts with fierce dragons; as a ship’s captain, “I salute the biggest whale.” Though Emile shows a quieter face externally, the child is intensely engaged with the world, proving an inventive artist as well as a close, empathic observer of nature (“I hear quiet scuttling beneath the earth”), and a good friend. And while classmates “are full of answers and ready to burst,” Emile is fine whispering answers softly inward. In unlined art, Petersen (Happy Puppy, Angry Tiger) foregrounds the tan-skinned figure atop minimalist settings, but the child’s calm, confident demeanor thwarts any impulse to project feelings of loneliness—whether readers gain energy from solo time or from a group, they will find much to admire in this book’s protagonist, who is comfortable in the world and in their skin. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a book for every child who has been told by adults that they are ‘shy,’ in that condescending way that implies that their way of being is a phase that needs to be outgrown. Emile shows us how strength and answers and friendship can be quiet.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“I Am Quiet shows readers how to practice self-kindness, by listening to our inside—that part of us that tells us who we are—even when the outside world tries to put their words on us. This sort of self-inquiry can also help us understand how the outsides of others may not meet our expectations or understanding and that maybe we should show kindness by honoring even what we cannot know about them.”
—School Library Journal

“Whether readers gain energy from solo time or from a group, they will find much to admire in this book’s protagonist, who is comfortable in the world and in their skin.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This story reassures and empowers introverted children and conveys their strengths to extroverted children and adults. It’s also a much-needed counter to similar titles that encourage quieter children to adapt. A refreshing, inspiring voice for young readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Charming, entertaining, thoroughly 'kid friendly' in tone, I Am Quiet will prove to be an immediately welcome and enduringly appreciated addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library 'Life Skills' picture book collections for children.”
—Midwest Book Review

“By giving children a window into what it's like to be an introvert—and how it differs from being shy—I Am Quiet raises awareness in outgoing children and builds esteem in those who are introspective.”
—Spirituality & Practice

From the Publisher

2022-07-13
“Grown-ups tell me, Don’t be shy. But I am not shy. I AM QUIET.”

Powers explains and advocates for introverted children in this picture book. A boy named Emile explains how wild his imagination is “on the inside,” how he explores and creates “on the outside,” and what it’s like to be around other children at school and on the playground. This is a picture of a child who is not lonely or shy (as is assumed by most of the adults around him) but who leads a rich, full, quietly lived existence. Compelling lines like “Strength can be quiet” give readers much to ponder. Petersen’s appealingly childlike illustrations bring to life Emile’s world, one full of color, creatures, mazes, and discoveries. This story reassures and empowers introverted children and conveys their strengths to extroverted children and adults. It’s also a much-needed counter to similar titles that encourage quieter children to adapt. In a meaningful author’s note, Powers discusses being both “a former quiet kid” and the parent of a quiet child. Emile is tan-skinned and brown-haired; the other children and adults he encounters are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A refreshing, inspiring voice for young readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews