Tim did not make me like his behavior at the beginning of the story, because of how he expressed himself about Maria, a young girl who is hearing impaired. As the story continued, I learned that he was able to have an open mind and try his best to understand Maria's world. Maria was a fascinating little girl. Even though Tim had unkind moments with her, she never stopped being kind and reliable. She was positive, sweet, and helpful in different situations in the story. Maria taught Tim sign language, and eventually, they became great friends. I will be reading this book to my classroom tomorrow because it teaches children to be kind and respectful of others despite any differences. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. This book was about a boy who moved towns, and he was not very happy about it. He met a girl, Maria, who was deaf. Tim was not happy that the first person he met was a girl, and he couldn't even talk to her. After a while, they were in the same class, and Maria tried to be his friend. They got paired together in class, and he was unhappy about it. He had to go to her house to work together, and he started to warm up to her. At school, they performed the play, and the crowd cheered. They became friends, and Maria signed 'friends' to him, and they were friends after all. I like the way the author shows that deafness is not a bad thing, and you can indeed communicate with deaf people, even though they cannot speak. ( )

This book follows Tim as he learns to accept and befriend Maria, who is deaf. At first, the challenge of not being able to talk to Maria makes Tim feel hesitant to want to play with Maria. But as he spends time with her and picks up on some sign language, he becomes excited to be friends with her. A child may find Tim's initial hesitations about Maria relatable and hopefully the ending of this book will encourage kids to have an open attitude toward the deaf. ( )

Tim doesn’t want to move to the city and leave his best friend. When he meets his new neighbor Maria, he’s annoyed that she’s not only a girl, but deaf as well. He doesn’t possibly think he can be friends with someone who is deaf. After being partnered together for a school project, Tim begins to accept Maria for who she is.
I like that this book shows how Tim develops as a character in such a realistic manner. In the beginning he doesn’t want to be friends with Maria because she is deaf, but as he gets to know her, he begins to see a friend and not a girl with a disability. It would be a great book to read to children in hopes that they gain an understanding that a disability doesn’t define who someone is.
I also thought the addition of the sign language and American Manual Alphabet was a charming touch. I can see children trying to copy the alphabet with their own hands (as I admittedly did when I finished the book).
I think this story warmly illustrates the importance of accepting others despite our differences. ( )

This book was about a child, named Tim, who had to move from the country to the city. His neighbor was deaf and didn't want to be friends with her, he quickly learned how nice she was and that they actually can communicate. They did a project together based on their love of mice and ended up becoming good friends. I thought it was really cool that they put the hand motions for signs throughout the book. They even included the alphabet in the back of the book. One of the themes of the book is that not everyone is the same and not everyone can communicate by talking with their voice. Even though one person talks with the voice and one person talks with their hands, they can still find a way to communicate and become friends. Another theme is be nice to everyone and treat them with respect. The last theme is to give everyone a chance because you never know, you might miss an opportunity to find a great friend. ( )