The Girl Who Heard Colors

by Marie Harris, Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illustrator)

Overview

This eye-opening picture book introduces readers to their five senses and to synesthesia—a condition in which one sense triggers another. For some people, sounds or tastes have colors. And for others, numbers and letters do. Many famous artists have been synesthetes, including Tori Amos, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, John Mayer, Mozart, and Degas.


Imagine that when you hear a bell you see silver or when a dog barks you see red. That’s what it’s like for Jillian—when she hears sounds she sees colors. At first the kids at school make fun of Jillian. Jillian worries about being different until her music teacher shows her that having synesthesia is an amazing thing. This lively, informative picture book makes synesthesia easy to understand and celebrates each person’s unique way of experiencing the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698135109
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/26/2013
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Marie Harris (marieharris.com) is the author of G Is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet and Primary Numbers: A New Hampshire Number Book, as well as four books of poetry. She lives in the woods of Barrington, New Hampshire, where she likes to walk and identify birds and go swimming in the Isinglass River.
 
Vanessa Brantley-Newton (oohlaladesignstudio.blogspot.com) has illustrated several picture books, including One Love by Bob Marley and Let Freedom Sing (which she also wrote). When Vanessa isn’t illustrating a book, she is crafting and cooking and singing! She also hears color. When she says “hello,” she sees the rainbow, and when children giggle, she sees bright orange and pink! She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

With the publication of books like Daniel Tammet’s Born on a Blue Day, synesthesia has gone from an obscure medical phenomenon to a more widely known cultural term. Harris’s (Primary Numbers) story is addressed both to the small population of children who hear colors and smell words, and to the friends, schoolmates, and teachers who may be puzzled by these experiences. She describes Jillian’s mixture of visual and aural sensations simply: “When she heard a dog barking she saw bright red.” When a lunchbox drops and the teacher asks what has happened, Jillian answers, “Yellow!” Her classmates laugh at Jillian: “When she heard their laughter, she saw inky black.” A doctor says Jillian is healthy, but doesn’t address her sense of being different; it’s a visiting musician who gives her sensations a name. Brantley-Newton (Mister and Lady Day) provides lively, stylish spreads and keeps close to the information given in the text. This is clearly meant as a resource for teachers and librarians; it’s less likely to draw readers on its own. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Jeff Dwyer, Dwyer & O’Grady. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A little girl with synesthesia engages the world with all five senses, plus. . . . The exploration of her unusual perception charms. . . . A brief author’s note gives a little bit more information about synesthesia, grounding it in the experiences of children Harris has encountered on school visits. An engaging look at a fascinating difference in perception, for younger readers.” — Kirkus Reviews

”Harris’s story is addressed both to the small population of children who hear colors and smell words, and to the friends, schoolmates, and teachers who may be puzzled by these experiences. She describes Jillian’s mixture of visual and aural sensations simply. . . . Brantley-Newton provides lively, stylish spreads.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2013-09-01
A little girl with synesthesia engages the world with all five senses, plus. Little Jillian is thoroughly in touch with her senses, relishing the taste of maple syrup on waffles and the smell of wet grass. But what she loves most are the colors that all the sounds she hears make. The bark of a dog is red, and the tinkle of her bicycle bell is silver. She loves school as wholeheartedly as everything else--her teacher's voice is green--but when a lunchbox crashes to the floor and Jillian calls it yellow, all the children begin to laugh at her--a sad, black sound. When Music Day rolls around and all the children play, Jillian is overwhelmed by all the colors she hears. Fortunately the visiting musician is also a synesthete, so he understands exactly what she means and explains it to everybody. While the tidiness of Jillian's resolution strains credulity, the exploration of her unusual perception charms. Brantley-Newton's digitally composed illustrations present a ponytailed, freckle-faced little girl who greets the world with verve. Her teacher has a particularly groovy hairstyle (though it's a little odd to see it repeated on both the musician and one of the little boys in Jillian's class). A brief author's note gives a little bit more information about synesthesia, grounding it in the experiences of children Harris has encountered on school visits. An engaging look at a fascinating difference in perception, for younger readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews