Listen!

by Stephanie S. Tolan

Book Overview

Learning to walk again is the easy part.

For twelve-year-old Charley, recovering from the accident that shattered her leg is nowhere near as difficult as facing the solitude of a summer without her best friend and with a father who does nothing, now, but work. Solitude means time to think, time to hear for the first time the awful silence left in her world two years ago by her mother's death.

But the summer holds a surprise for Charley,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060579358
• ISBN13: 9780060579357
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Add it to your list!!

A beautifully told story! You need to read this book!

CGE Student Review

My favorite book is Listen by Stephanie S. Tolan. Other books written by Stephanie are: Welcome To the Ark Flight of the Raven Surviving the Applewhites I think the genre of this story is realistic fiction and the book theme is overcoming challenges and friendship. Stephanie writs about bonds, In Listen is a bond between dog and girl and I think in Surviving the Applewhites is a bond between a bad kid and a crazy family. The main characters are Charley and Cyote. My favorite character is Charley because she is a fighter she never backs down she is determined she overcomes so many challenges. Charley is a girl whose mom died, who has a rod in her leg, and who sees a wild dog and needs to "tame" it. This is an important seen from the book. It is sitting tall and rock still on a smooth patch of bare red dirt at the base of a big sweet gum tree in the woods, barely visible between the scrubby bushes and the tangle of honeysuckle vine that edge the road. It is red-gold, almost the collar of the ground it is sitting on, its head high, its dark ears pricked sharply in her direction. The dog's eyes, dark in a narrow, golden face, are looking directly at her. She feels a kind of tremor, as if an electric shock has passed from the dog to her and back again. I highly recommend this book to people who like to read chapter books. I like this book because it is about friendship between a girl and a dog.

Tugging on the "leash" of your heartstrings!

As an elementary school teacher, I read many, many children's books. Many of the books I've read lately have been a bit too silly and simplistic. This isn't one of those. The author, Ms. Tolan, has an exquisite way of describing the feelings and experiences of the main character, Charley, a young girl with a lot to be depressed about. She's suffered great losses, and yet this book is about hope and healing. As I've told several of my students who've chosen to read this book, you have to get through the first two chapters to notice the improvement in Charley's mood and situation. Luckily for the reader, Ms. Tolan has a magical skill of making you feel like you're THERE, in the story, and that is enticement enough to stick with the book. You can see, hear, smell, touch and experience the surroundings "pictured" by her writing. Like a good friend, the reader needs to stand by Charley as she explains why she's in this state of mind, and watch her as she redeems and tames Coyote, and he redeems her! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sharing great writing with kids. You don't even need to share it at all. It's a great story on it's own!

A kid's review

Listen is a story about a girl named Charley and a dog named Coyote. Charly wants to catch Coyote. I love Coyote because he goes on a new adventure every day. My favorite part is when Charly and her friend's dog named Sadie go on a walk. Coyote goes on a walk and show's them where to go. I liked the book because every they get a step closer.

Slow, thoughtful, and deeply moving

This book, about Charley and a wild dog she names Coyote, is not filled with adventure and action. But don't let this scare you off. This slow-paced book touched my soul and left me smiling with satisfaction. As the reader, you get to witness not only the gigantic change in Coyote, but the enormous changes that take place in Charley, who is still hurting from her mother's death two years ago and a recent car accident that left her leg badly injured. Throughout Charley's journey in "taming" this wild dog she calls Coyote, Charley learns to open her heart again to beauty and wonder. If you are a dog lover (as I most certainly am) you will also enjoy reading about the bond that develops between this girl and canine. [..] You can't help but grow attached to Coyote and Charley. You can't help but applaud their slowly developing friendship. You can't help but hope that both Coyote and Charley will learn to trust again. The wonderful descriptions of nature and photography are just an added bonus! I highly recommend this book.

loved it

Charley is down and out. She has been injured in a car accident and is learning to walk without any aids. She is having a tough time. Her mother died a few years ago, her father works all the time and now her best friend is leaving for the summer. She thinks that it will be the most boring summer of her life. Then one day she finds a wild, stray dog. Her summer mission becomes to train the dog. Will she be able to do it? Read this book to find out! While Charlie is taming the dog she learns a lot about her self as well. Middle school readers who enjoy dog and or nature loves will enjoy this very much.