Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stoker and Devon Holzwarth - ADVISABLE

Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl. Changed Percussion by Shannon Stoker, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth BIOGRAPHY, PICTURE BOOK Dial (Penguin). 2022. $18. 9780593109694 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

As a young girl, Evelyn was surrounded by music, her father played the accordion, and her mother played the organ. But as she lost her hearing, her doctor said she would never play music. At school, she was drawn to the percussion instruments and found a teacher who would work with her. Although Evelyn could not hear with her ears, she listened with her whole body, and her childhood music lessons came in handy, as she knew how to read music. She nailed her audition to the Royal Academy of Music, and became the first person ever to make a career as a percussion soloist. 

Listen is an inspirational story about a woman who wouldn't let others' perceptions stop her. Because of her persistence to receive a fair audition, music schools in Great Britain changed their rules and welcomed people with disabilities. The illustrations are great, incorporating the sounds of the instruments making Listen a fun read-aloud as well. Evelyn Glennie is Scottish. 

Lisa Librarian