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When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbour, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project—building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind.
The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, which was created by artist Itaru Sasaki. He built the phone booth so he could speak to his cousin who had passed, saying, 'My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind.' The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been travelling to the wind phone since the tsunami.
This celebrated book has earnt 18 awards as of early 2022.
"Text and illustration come together to make this a memorable story of love, loss, and despair tinged with the hope that comes when healing can finally begin...This book has a wide range of appeal and will fit into many curriculum areas. Highly Recommended."
- School Library Connection
"Smith spins a quietly moving narrative...Wada’s large-scale woodblock style illustrations are a perfect complement to the story’s restrained text...The graceful way in which this book handles a sensitive and serious subject makes it a first purchase for most picture book collections."
- School Library Journal
"A moving concept, and the book might open discussion about ways to deal with death and loss."
- The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
"This book is an essential purchase for elementary school libraries and home libraries. Children need to learn empathy, coping skills and the simplicity of communicating to help during the healing process."
- Must Read Literature: K thru YA
"Tackles tragedy with compassion and shows that beauty and community can be found in even the darkest times...The illustrations, inspired by traditional Japanese art, are my favorite from any picture book in 2019 and perfectly capture the story's themes of hope and loss. While young readers may have many questions about death, this book answers one of the biggest ones--how do we move forward? The answer, according to Mr. Hirota, is together."
- Canadian Children's Book News
