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The Sound of a Smile

By Louise Greig
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Brief Description
A stunning illustrated children's book exploring deafness, friendship and the universal ways in which we all communicate.One girl can't hear the noisy world around her. In her ears, those sounds are sleeping. But she has found sounds that are hiding . . .Between the notes of... Read More
Format: Hardback
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A beautiful portrayal of deafness, friendship and the universal ways in which we all communicate, from award-winning duo, poet Louise Grieg and illustrator David Litchfield.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
A stunning illustrated children's book exploring deafness, friendship and the universal ways in which we all communicate.

One girl can't hear the noisy world around her. In her ears, those sounds are sleeping. But she has found sounds that are hiding . . .

Between the notes of a song.

Between the beats of a wing.

Between those sounds are my sounds.

And I listen.

What if someone in the noisy world listened to the beauty and magic of the silent things, too? Perhaps they might discover the sound of a smile - or even better, the sound of a friend.

Through this beautiful and heartwarming story, author and poet Louise Grieg has drawn from her own experience to portray a world where silence sings. Brought to life with stunning illustrations from David Litchfield (The Bear and the Piano), this is a book that encourages us all to put language barriers aside and come together in friendship.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781408365489

Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 16 July 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Orchard Books

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by David Litchfield

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 253.0mm

Height: 281.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 32

Collections

Children's Books Children's Picture Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Louise Greig

About the Author

Louise Greig (Author)

Louise Greig is an award-winning writer whose early years were spent near Glasgow, dominated by a love of animals and horse riding. She completed her school years in Aberdeen and embarked on a career as an air stewardess before progressive deafness forced her to seek new opportunities.

Having always had a love of poetry, Louise started writing in 2014, prompted by an advertisement for a poetry competition. Her children's picture books have been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Klaus Flugge Prize. Sweep! was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and her adaptation of The Little Prince has been translated into over 20 languages.

David Litchfield (Illustrator)

David Litchfield first started to draw when he was very young, creating comics for his older brother and sister. Since then his work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books and on T-shirts. David's first picture book The Bear and the Piano won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. He lives in Bedfordshire.

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