100 books like Silence

I Am Peace is part of a wonderful series by this well-known team. The series explores topics such as compassion, empathy, resilience, and what it is to be a feeling human being. I Am Peace is about a child (gender not identified) who worries about the past and future and learns how to comfort and ground themselves by noticing the here and now, breathing evenly, and practicing kindness toward themselves and others. The simple, sparse text expresses these rather deep ideas in ways that all children can understand: “I can watch my worries gently pop and disappear. I let things go"; “I can hug a tree and thank it for its beauty and strength.” The back matter features a discussion of mindfulness and a guided meditation.

In this colorful book about pigs learning to meditate, we see their stressful world and how it is sometimes hard to manage emotions such as anger and frustration: “So it’s good to have a peaceful place inside.” In simple, accessible language, the author shows how, through meditation, the pigs learn, among other things, to accept what “is,” instead of wishing it were otherwise. A sweet scene showing a dead goldfish that can’t be wished back to life gently makes this point. Themes of self-care, self-acceptance, and kindness add to the strong message. Back matter includes a meditation instruction, how to make a glitter jar, and notes about family meditation. A great introduction to how to do the formal practice of meditation. 

This is one of my favorite all-time picture books! Each page identifies one “type” of quiet accompanied by a whimsical illustration with delightful animal characters. Some of my favorites are “Hide-and-seek quiet,” which shows a baby moose trying unsuccessfully to hide behind an office chair; “Lollipop quiet,” which shows a bear and a rabbit with bandages comforting themselves with lollipops; or “Top of the roller coaster quiet,” which shows an assortment of animals anticipating that fateful moment! The words and illustrations are beautifully paired and children will want to invent their own stories about each scene. A sweet, evocative, and original book that expands the notion of quiet in imaginative ways.

Little Yoshio lives in noisy Tokyo, where “the sounds of the city swirled all around him” like a “symphony hall.” As he walks around on a rainy day, absorbing these sounds, he comes upon a woman playing a koto, a stringed instrument. The woman shares that her favorite sound is “ma,” or silence. So, Yoshio begins a search for the sound of silence but can’t find it anywhere! Buses and trains aren’t silent; even bamboo stalks make a swishing sound. Everywhere he goes, Yoshio hears sounds but not silence. Finally, he discovers that silence is “underneath every sound.” A lovely, understated story of how “ma” exists inside all of us, if only we stop to listen. The illustrations reflect different aspects of Tokyo’s culture and energy.

I have been in love with the apparently simple wisdom of Nancy’s approach since I first read this book…and delighted to see this in action when I was privileged to attend several courses with her. Nancy is the real deal – funny, empathetic, perceptive, and respectful of the latent brilliance in others that we can bring forth through creating a ‘Thinking Environment’. She writes in a way that is straightforward and accessible – as you go through her 10 components of a Thinking Environment, (a client of mine refers to them as the 10 commandments!), you think, ‘Oh yeah, I get that!’. There is a deceptively simple truth behind each that is obvious when she points it out – and I have been privileged to see how inspiring and transformational others have found her approach when I have introduced them to it. Nancy has transformed how I work with others… show more.

Simple drawings, simple text, nails the moral with an absolute gut punch that feels just right. It’s got expert pacing! It’s got animals!

This book has won a million awards for a reason. The plot? Taylor builds a thing with blocks. It gets knocked down. Different animals present different strategies for coping, but ultimately Taylor just needed someone to listen to him. Enter rabbit.

So simple! And sooooo human. AI wishes it could distill an essential human experience like this. But it can’t - yet - I don’t think. So prbtrbrtb.

This book understands ideas about citizenship as entangled with language, sound, and voice. It traces the ways that exclusion and a politics of second-class citizenship arose in Colombia, as a result of specific ideas about how people should speak and sound. It is at once an intellectual history and historical anthropology of the ways the aural has been foundational to ideas of citizenship and belonging. 

Edward Tulane is a vain, selfish, coldhearted toy rabbit. And, except for the toy rabbit part, I am Edward Tulane. That’s why I needed this book.

Whilst the family is on the Queen Mary, Edward is cast overboard, like Jonah. Outside the bosom of his family, Edward is largely unloved and disrespected. Through many trials and tribulations, he is reunited with his family. It’s classic Odyssey territory, except that Edward’s trials broaden his perspective and enable him to appreciate – and, yes, love – those who love him.

Edward may be merely a toy rabbit, but he stands in for all of us who need to die in order to live.

Of all the destinations we can and do explore during our lives, our internal landscape is the most intimate. Without silence, how do we begin to know ourselves, and to see ourselves for who we really are? Sara Maitland moved from being a chatterer to “a silence hunter,” seeking out spaces where she could live alone and savour silent solitude. Her book explores histories and landscapes of silence, from contemplatives to explorers. She nails the difference between bad silence (the kind most of us are terrified of) and the spaciousness of prolonged silence that, eventually, becomes a state of bliss. Don’t be put off by the apparent seriousness of this subject: Sara might be a religious reclusive, but she writes in accessible prose that, ironically, induces the sense you could almost be having a drink together. It’s a brilliant book.

In this book, a little girl learns to hear the trees and see characters and creatures when her mother asks her to be quiet. Poetry is made when we stop to listen and be still. Each page builds from the last, and Pendziwol's poetic language draws the reader in. My poet’s heart resonates with this book’s message in a deep way. I think it is vital for children to experience a small amount of boredom because it can be the catalyst for creativity and ingenuity. So don't be afraid to tell your kids to be still! You're doing them a favor. Let this charming book lead the way.