I Go Quiet
By David Ouimet
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is an American artist, author and musician.
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Canongate Books 2019
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4-8 as stated on the web. I would say, it’s 6-14 due to the complexity of illustrations and the topic itself.
I Go Quiet is the exquisite story of an introverted girl, struggling to find her place in a noisy world. Through the power of books, creativity and imagination, she begins to see possibilities for herself beyond the present, to a future where her voice will finally be heard.
We start with talking about the book cover. I ask the kids why the girls is wearing the mask. Some say because she loves being a mouse, others think that she hides behind the mask or she plays some game wearing it. I’ve written more about a mask as a symbol when posting about the This Is Sadie book.
We look at the background. It is very industrial with all this smoke and greyness. Industrial sites suggest that it’s grim and very uncomfortable. This is not where we want to be. She is outside of it at the moment but is it because she escaped or is she outside only mentally?
The way she looks at us suggests that she wants to communicate. She is watching us openly. We can see a few times throughout the book how she turns her head towards the reader.
The girl is positioned right at the centre of the page and it might suggest that she is equal to us. Neither of us are looking down at each other.
The first page of the book shows how she walks the streets of her town. She is not wearing the mask but it’s behind her back. Why is she not wearing it now? Is it because she is alone and doesn’t need to hide or pretend? (I usually ask questions and listen to my students’ opinions, then if they don’t share the one I want them to, I say what I think. In this case, I would say that she feels safe for now with the mask off. This is not how I would portray it to students of course, it’s never a monologue. We share opinions and mostly they talk and I listen. But on the pages of this blog I share the line and the strategy to stick to.)
Anyway, we can also see that this place lacks any natural things. There’s only one lonely bush down below and a tree that looks dead. Again, this only points out that this place is void of life and any positive emotion.
We move on to the next illustration and see that there are a lot of kids outside, it’s probably a school yard, and all of them have masks. Although, I think all of them except the girl are cats. She doesn’t look happy walking towards the school because she is looking down at the road. When you are looking down it often makes you a victim. She speaks, they don’t understand her, she goes quiet. She shuts down and feels miserable.
We can talk about feeling shy. We can think of why some children are so unpopular. What is it like to be a mouse in the world of cats? Is it always cats that we want to blame when a mouse is miserable? This is a very cliche idea. Sometimes, mice are very unapproachable as in the book Vivaldi. Can it be her own fault in this case as well?
I love how David tilted the page. He could have straightened the floor up for this story but he chose not to. And this angle now emphasises her distress. She is walking down. It’s like a sinking ship.
We also see that most of the children have identical haircuts. This quiff makes them look taller than they are. Taller is stronger. And so she puts her head down and looks even smaller.
It’s her turn to speak now and she goes quiet. Even the text and the letters follow her and seem to be very understanding. See how the word ‘quiet’ shies away.
The mouse is not just talking, she is on stage before everyone else. Everyone is staring at her, all the eyes are on the one who prefers to be invisible. And now we can see that she is wearing her mask, and they are too. All of them are playing their own roles. Are they judging her? Is everyone against her? David Ouimet left a tiny clue. In the right hand corner there’s a girl who is not watching our mouse misery. She is hidden in the dark and while everyone is busy being cats, she is watching us. Can you see her? I think David wanted to tell us that the girl is not alone. She doesn’t know that not all of the children in school are cats, but because of her shyness she can’t see that.
Look at the teacher. Don’t you think he looks like a soldier? And what is a soldier? It’s power, discipline, authority. The image of the teacher in the story is very symbolical. There’s no kindness in him and he doesn’t look approachable.
Then they go somewhere together. They walk down the stairs, focused on the target. Only our girl looks at us. Because everyone is wearing almost the same mask it looks robotic in its nature, everyone has the same destination. They remind me of soldiers again following orders. And there’s no escape. See the railings. They restrict them, the kids are being guided and they can only go forward and they can’t disagree and go against the flow. Artists use this tool of visual restrictions often to show that there is no way out. It can be a wall, a closed door, a cliff. Sometimes, there’s literally no way out. But often it’s just to show how desperate the character is to escape.
She says that she makes no sound in a thing that is supposed to make noise. And the picture emphasises that. For example, there are a few loud speakers in this room. And the room looks more like a factory of loud thigs than a school for gentle souls.
Every line of the text on this page connects with the picture. For example, it says:
I am different.
Well, she is. In so many ways. They are cats - she is a mouse, they are wearing masks - hers is off, they are identical - she is different, they are singing - she falls silent, they are in the dark - she is in the spotlight.
I am the note that’s not in tune.
It can be literally because they are singing. We can also be not in tune with other people, when there’s no understanding between us. This is a very nice metaphor that we discuss with my class. Along with the meaning of the phrase ‘I go mousy’.
My students also clearly see that the cats on stage are like soldiers again because of those round things that look like shields. They are protected by them and she is out in the open feeling alone and vulnerable. I personally thought of some church choir when I saw this picture.
I sing silence as loud as I can.
What a nice oxymoron. I also give my students more awfully good examples. Deafening silence. Loud whisper. Sound of silence.
She is sitting on the spiral stairs going into the sky. She is alone and she can leave and be free just like those birds that she is watching. But the spiral stairs are reaching into the unknown as the top bits are hidden in thick fog. This is another example of an obstacle and restrictions. It is possible to walk through something foggy, but it still emphasises the inability to do something. It often is very metaphorical. Like she can’t be as free as the birds and she is stuck in her own emotions.
The next page is even more metaphorical. She sinks into a slow-moving smog. What is smog as a symbol? It’s the unknown, not being seen, something hidden, being alone and confused. What is sinking as a symbol? It’s going down, being out of your depth, feeling miserable.
We can notice that when she is in the classroom, she is just like everyone else or at least pretends to be. She now has a cat mask just like other children. Is it because she is expected to be like others? Any system appreciates children toeing the line. She tries to but she also wanders off to the sky in her thoughts. The bird is another visual metaphor in this book. What is a bird as a symbol? It can mean freedom because bird can fly. It can be a new journey or a fresh start and the positivity of the future. Birds can also represent the soul wisdom. What does a bird represent in your culture and what do you think is right for this story?
The window itself reminds us of a cage. But who is in it? Is it the bird or the girl?
And then we move on to the next page where she says that she would leave if she could fly. So we are right thinking that she is in the cage herself.
She is in the school canteen and the colour of the illustration and the perspective make me think of a swimming pool. She is at the bottom, looking up at us. Is she asking for help? We are looking down at her now and that often means that we are sorry. You know, it’s like looking at something small. Like a wee mouse or a child. We feel sorry and a bit superior being bigger and outside their situation. The plates on the tables are like bubbles in the water. Nobody wants to even sit next to her. And her mask now is clearly a mouse. Once she is not told by the teacher of what she should be, she bounces back to being her miserable self.
Are the children in her school mean? I can’t see any bullying and she is not complaining. What if she is being ignored only because she is mentally not present in the room. Like right now she is rushing on the back of a kangaroon. My students coined this word because the animals look like both a kangaroo and a raccoon. The way she is riding them tells us loads about her. She imagines herself a hero. She is like a wild princess of a forest or a goddess rushing through the burning forest to help someone out. In her thoughts she is way more courageous. The kangaroons are wearing masks. Like little mischievous culprits escaping from the jail. It’s a prison break for her at least in her head.
Sometimes, she sheds her black velvet cape and soars like a shiny raven. I looked at the picture and thought the whole mass of ravens in sky look like something shedding.
Why a raven? This bird is a symbol of wisdom. They also guide people through difficult times and protect them. And who is the raven in this picture? I believe it’s her.
She walks into the library still wearing her mask. But then she takes it off, reaches for a book and the reality around her transforms into something magical. Now she is sitting in the tree that looks like an intricate cage for a singing bird. The roots of the tree extend beyond the picture. It’s another nice metaphor in the story. Roots are usually hidden. We can only assume how far they go but we can’r ever be sure. It’s a whole world beneath the surface like the girl’s inner world underneath the timid and fragile shell.
She reads and lightens up. We can see fairy lights going through the library. And the place transforms into something wild. She has visitors and reads for them. They are much smaller than she is and that probably means that she is not the only one small in this grim world. There are other creatures that share her feelings. And they leave imprints on her soul just as they leave them on the frosty floor.
When I am heard, I will build cities with my words.
David beautifully plays with the text arranging words, scattering them like building blocks.
She is on the way back home now. Compare the two pictures. She heads right at the beginning of her journey and her way back home is to the left. I’ve mentioned more examples writing about the book Little Wise Wolf. At the beginning, her face was hidden. When we can’t see the face we don’t know anything about the character and their feelings. She was walking into danger. Often illustrators position their character very close to the edge of the page so the space in front of them is limited and we can’t predict what’s waiting ahead. The second picture is so similar to the first one but different in a way. Although it’s dark, the fairy lights cheer the image up. We can see the girl’s face. Yes, sometimes she goes quiet. But there is so much joy in this quietness. There’s so much room for imagination and being different.
But some day I will make a shimmering noise.
What is this noise like? How can something you can see (shimmer) be heard? One of my students says shimmer is like t-t-t-t-t, he holds his hands up and wriggles his fingers. Shimmer goes t-t-t-t-t. It’s a timid, tender and skittish noise that this girl will one day make.
This book is a very successful project and was shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2021.
It’s not the end of the story. I actually liked the second book even more. You should definitely read the I Get Loud.
