QUIET KARIMA

A seemingly withdrawn child actively engages with the world.

“People call me Quiet Karima like it’s my first and last name.” But while the rest of the world chatters away, Karima is watching and listening. Karima’s “ears seek rhythm and beat”—the sounds of the softly falling rain, the scrabbling of squirrels’ paws, and the almost imperceptible noises made as Mama rolls rotis. The nearby park is a “symphony,” filled with the sounds of leaves whirling, bicycle wheels rolling, and shoes hitting the pavement. Most people don’t notice Karima’s observational bent—except for Mrs. T, who works at the music store. The two of them appreciate the treasures that Karima has collected—“a box, a can, a pair of chopsticks”—before gathering up the shop’s drums and turning the store’s silence into joyous noise. In the ensuing rhythms, Karima transforms, too: a little bit quiet, a little bit loud, but always Karima. This rhyming picture book is filled with lyrically crafted lines and sweetly professed feelings. Featuring textured backgrounds, the watercolor, ink, and colored pencil illustrations have an appealingly childlike, intimate feel, capturing intangibles such as the sounds Karima so loves, as well as the child’s complex emotions. The book’s message—that shy or introverted young people needn’t change who they are—comes through clearly. Mrs. T and Karima are brown-skinned; Karima is cued South Asian.

A poignant reminder that quiet kids often have richly resonant inner lives.