Bookverdict.com

K-Gr 4—On a rainy, bustling morning in Tokyo, a young boy is surrounded by a symphony of sounds: boots squishing, raindrops pattering, cars rushing, and, to his delight, a koto player producing a range of high, low, and "twangy and twinkling" notes as she tunes her instrument. When Yoshio asks the musician what her favorite sound is, she answers, "Ma," the silence between sounds. Intrigued by her comment, the boy spends his day in search of the elusive ma. Kuo's art provides the backdrop for the c...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

A Japanese boy searches for the sound of silence after an elderly musician tells him that the most beautiful sound is that of "ma," or silence. Young Yoshio listens -- in a bamboo grove, in traffic, and at home -- but no place is perfectly quiet. The next day, arriving early to school, he starts reading a book and forgets where he is. "Suddenly, in the middle of a page, he heard it...Everything felt still inside him...Silence had been there all along." In an afterword, Goldsaito explains that Yoshio is ba...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

A Japanese boy searches for the sound of silence after an elderly musician tells him that the most beautiful sound is that ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More