This profoundly moving picture book is a balm to the soul of a young reader (or old) whose mind tumbles with feelings and images and scent and touch and experience: things that mere words would box in and categorize, but not necessarily understand. It is so important to listen to what's not said. To just be quiet.
Illustrations are equally stunning.
Thank you Publisher Spotlight, Helvetiq, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

When I Want to Be Silent
by Zornitsa Hristova
This book shows the nature of connection to another person. The social emotional learning of this book could help children understand that sometimes what needs to be said is silence. It talks about the deep feelings you have that can not be communicated. The images are ink drawings, a study in line and shading that could be used in an art lesson, not only for children but adults.

As a mom to small children who sometimes struggle to communicate, I relate to this book so much! Reading it helped me regulate sometimes frustrating thoughts of "just tell me what you want" between the stuttering, freezing, crying, and wrong use of words that occur in our home. Hristova reminds us all that words are hard and children are just learning what they are, how to say them, and every possibility each word could hold. Between homonyms, homophones, rhyming, onomatopoeia, connotations, etc, how are little brains supposed to figure it all out? We need this book to remember to slow down, break emotions and circumstances down verbally to process them with our children, and continue to reiterate past lessons so no one feels confused or alone in the midst of their struggle.

This story is beautifully illustrated in black and white simplicity, telling the story in imaginative way. I loved the ending: hearts often scream out in the silent echo when words are expected but withheld.

Thank you to Publisher Spotlight and NetGalley for this ARC!

I really like the sketchy art style of the illustrations. Some of the pages are frame worthy.

The perspective of not having words for all you want to express and instead choosing to hold those thoughts or feelings silently is also understandable. And likely deeply relatable to specific groups.

Not a win for me or my 9 year old daughter whom I read this with. There were a few really cute illustrations but the story didn’t really explain why silence is sometimes important and used examples of things too can use words to explain that can, in fact, be explained.

I appreciate the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this. I’m sure it will be a good fit for someone.

I was confused by this one and am not sure if there were issues with the ebook that made me miss pages or have pages out of order or something. I liked the concepts presented, but I'm not sure I got the full story. I'm giving this 3 stars for now, because it feels incomplete, but if I learn that it was because of my copy being problematic, I'll come back and fix that.

This book was cute for what it was. It felt like there was issues with some of the pages in the e-book. They wouldn't load right so I would go back then forward and it seemed like i was skipping parts. It was a good book for what I read I liked the style of drawings.

This is not a fun or silly book that you would read at bedtime, but that does not mean that it is not a good book. It would be a great book to read to a child who is having difficulty expressing themselves through emotional times. Sometimes words are not enough. It could also be used to teach the concept of abstract nouns and that sometimes we have a word such as fear, but we might not be able to fully express how we feel about our fear or why we are afraid and that is okay.

Again, I would recommend this book, but not as an everyday book that you cuddle up with, but a book to help kids understand it is okay to be silent and contemplate things,

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC, This did not impact my review. I really think it is a unique book that could help some children through certain situations. The illustrations are wonderful.

A book that is a reminder that communication isn't always words but silence, too. The book is black and white with lovely pictures and a lovely message about communication.

I loved this sweet little book. I was intermittently a very quiet kiddo, and I would have felt so seen reading this story. The etched illustrations are so endearing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book by Zornitsa Hristova. I love that this is being brought to English readers!

I'm honestly not quite sure what to make of this book but the illustrations are so satisfying that it won me over.

As someone who has autism and just wants life to be silent sometimes, this was a very good book to help explain how I feel. The illustrations are gentle black-and-white pencil work, and don't overtake the story. I feel like this book should be a must-read for anyone who engages with non-verbal or semi-verbal children, to help inform them that the goal is not to TALK, it is to CONNECT.

When I Want To Be Silent is a beautiful picture book. The text is sparse and poetic. The intricate illustrations provide so much to the story as well. Words sometimes fail us, and this book teaches children that that’s okay!

When I want to be Silent has beautiful illustrations that tell the story of a bear that is learning words and just how to express himself in the world. I love the detailed images and the emotions that were displayed in the images. A perfect picture book for students to explore character emotions and then connect that to the text.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
What a wonderfully written book that really gets to the core of the speaking and communicating struggles. The black and white pictures were beautiful and it gave a very calming feel. Sometimes it is most important to listen to what is not being said and this was an excellent reminder.
Highly recommend.