A Quick Meditation on "The Silence Slips In"

     I felt like a kid in a candy store yesterday when I finally made it to a library, one town over, that has a better selection of new picture books than my town and found this absolute gem, The Silence Slips In, from the Canadian house Orca Book Publishers.
   In this story, “Silence” is portrayed as an entity that moves through our lives in soothing ways and can be called upon when needed, to calm us.
    Here’s one of my favorite lines: “The Silence holds you in its safe, soothing arms and lulls you to sleep. And gently, softly launches all the boats of your dreams.”

     The book makes superb use of lyrical language, which I’m currently looking out for because I’m taking a fantastic class on lyrical language with Dianne White, through the Writing Barn. The text is evocative, contemplative, active and sensory, and a pleasure to read over again. And it’s open-ended, so it’s easy to insert yourself into the story.   
     Alison Hughes’ figurative language is delightful. Ninon Pelletier’s visual personifications of the Silence, the Noise, and the Dark are fabulously effective!
     Perhaps best of all, I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle and seamless way the author introduces the concept of meditation into the story.
     This is a beautiful book in every way, and I recommend it highly.