James Rumford, author-illustrator,
Silent Music
Roaring Press, 2008.

Ages 7-10

Silent Music, written and illustrated by award-winning, Hawaii-based James Rumford, tells the story of Ali, a contemporary Baghdad boy who loves soccer and “loud, parent-rattling music.” But even more, Ali loves calligraphy. He practices ardently, just like his idol Yakut, who lived 800 years ago. When the Mongols attacked in 1258, Ali tells us, Yakut fled to a high tower. “He shut out the terror and wrote glistening letters of rhythm and grace.”

So in 2003, through the long nights of bombing in Baghdad, Ali recalls the practice of his hero and also writes. He notices how much easier are the “long sweeping hooks” of the word HARB (war) than are the “difficult waves and slanted staffs” of SALIM (peace). By now we have met Ali’s little sister, Yasmin, and his parents. We have seen Ali’s Arabic alphabet cards, with illustrations and the calligraphy for cat (qatt) and orange (naranj), very much like a western child’s alphabet cards. Ali’s father smiles when he discovers his son’s calligraphy practice on the fogged-up shaving mirror. When war comes to this charming family, the pain of their suffering cuts deep.

Rumford, whose Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing was a 2005 Sibert Honor winner, studied calligraphy in Afghanistan and is an accomplished linguist. Alongside his calligraphy in Silent Music, he notes the corresponding Roman letters: motivated young readers can thus puzzle out a bit of Arabic. Furthermore, Rumford’s collaged illustrations employ calligraphy extensively and exuberantly as design elements, forming the patterns in clothing and other backgrounds. In a note on the copyright page, he explains that his illustrations, “inspired by the many photos posted on the Web by photographers and American service personnel in Iraq, were done in pencil and charcoal then enhanced on the computer.” An author’s note gives more details about Arabic calligraphy and Ali’s long-ago mentor, Yakut.

Thoughtful parents and teachers will appreciate Silent Music for the human perspective it offers young readers at a time when mass media images of Baghdad, Iraq, and Islam are typically violent and negative. Children will appreciate Ali’s story more directly: a young boy faced with darkness whose passion for calligraphy and the inspiration of his hero bring him hard-earned understanding.

Charlotte Richardson
November 2008