The Other Way to Listen

by Byrd Baylor, Peter Parnall (Illustrator)

With a lot of practice, a young boy learns from his old teacher how to listen to the sounds and songs of the natural world.When you know “the other way to listen,” you can hear the wild-flower seed bursting open. You hear rocks murmuring and hills singing, and it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it takes a lot of practice, and you can’t be in a hurry. Most people never hear these things at all. This is the story of an old man who had a special way of hearing and of a child who hoped to learn his secrets. Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall have combined their unique, award-winning talents to celebrate the world of nature.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Childrens, Nature, Native American, Environment, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1978

About the author

Byrd Baylor has always lived in the Southwest, mainly in Southern Arizona near the Mexican border. She is at home with the southwestern desert cliffs and mesas, rocks and open skies. She is comforted by desert storms. The Tohono O’odham people, previously known as the Papagos, are her neighbors and close friends. She has focused many of her writings on the region’s landscape, peoples, and values. Through her books of rhythmic prose poetry, written primarily for children, she celebrates the beauty of nature and her own feelings of rapport with it.
Byrd has written many books for children.

Her books have been honored with many prestigious children’s book awards, including the Caldecott Award and the Texas Bluebonnet Award. All of her books are full of the places and the peoples that she knows. She thinks of these books as her own kind of private love songs to the place she calls home.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good message in this story, getting outdoors and taking the time to really look and appreciate nature and getting to know something well. I liked the message and the text was good. The illustrations were nice, sometimes it was hard to tell what was happening in the illustrations, perhaps that was due to reading this on my tablet.

Read on open library.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Byrd Baylor, every line counts. With Peter Parnall, every line counts. They make a good pair.

I wish more people read Baylor and took heed of her message. How many people spend time in the natural world? And of those, how many people take the time to see, really see, what is around them. And of those, how many people hear the sounds, the natural sounds, in our natural world that is so rapidly being destroyed?

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah best book ever

[Ella Hasty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my third graders and I started tearing up. It was so beautiful and lovely. This is the type of book I aspire to write and illustrate.

[Amanda]

I read this one right before reading we are water protectors. This book was published in 1997 where water protectors was published in 2020. For both books the morals are about how we connect to our environment and what our role is. Here it is to be a listener, an observer, an appreciator. I think it is no small thing to see how this notion has changed so drastically. There is no monster in this book. No fearful shadowy dark.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If everyone learned to listen….

Beautifully written piece on how to listen, be mindful and unified with creation. A must for all people of every age.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you hear corn singing, lizards thinking, or flowers blooming? If you would like to learn, Byrd Baylor can help show you how in "The Other Way to Listen."
Once you really learn how to listen (and it can take a bit of time, things like this can not be rushed) your experience in nature will never be the same again.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up because I'm such a fan of this team...
Way better than hello! hello! and Doug Unplugged.

[Alexandra Chauran · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the struggles when raising children is teaching them how to listen for spirit without force-feeding them your own religion. This book manages to do it in an entirely secular yet mindful way. I must own this book.

[Fiorella Morzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure. It resonated deep deep inside. Beautiful words, beautiful illustrations, so much wisdom.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a downright shame that Baylor and Parnall are not well known if read at all these days. I know a good amount of their books are still in print, but I haven't come across many who still read them. Baylor was a great advocate of getting back to nature and in this book, The Other Way to Listen (1978) they remind us that nature is important, and being alone and listening in other ways than the ways we are accustomed to is vital to maybe our own inner peace. It is told in the first person by a girl who meets an older man who is able to hear sounds that she is unable to hear. He tells her that it will come with time and eventually she goes out by herself one day and starts to hear things in a way she never heard before. I believe this really is taken from the Native American's way of being one with the earth and nature. It's a very beautiful, yet somewhat complex story for young readers, in my opinion. Still, the illustrations are interesting, even if minimal in design. But the message is strong and true. My rating - 4/5

[Laura Kisthardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this children’s book. It would be a great children’s moment or book to use for adults to reflect on too. The language is easy for kids to understand. It is an older book, but none of the words felt dated. The illustrations are simple and calming. I felt more at peace after reading this short book.

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young teen talks about knowing an older man who listened so well he could hear the corn grow.

A very good book for discussing the sense of hearing and how to listen intently. It would work well woven into a lesson on scientific observation. In classroom library for 1st through 5th grade.

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

STUNNING art work

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique and calming book about listening to nature and tuning in to the world around you. If this book were written today, the word "mindfulness" would probably be tossed around.

[raccoon reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book... I hope it affected my son as much as it affected me.

[Callia Hutchison]

Poetry, fiction

Lexile level: AD410L

Grade: Pre-K, 1-2

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book,I loved the art work, and the poetic lyrics,but most of all the thought of being out in nature to truly listen.

[Devin Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very calm and peaceful and very unique. One day I would want to hear nature!

[Nahin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful words, beautiful illustrations.

[Hilmg · Rating 5 out of 5]

on being present
can be read with multiple voices

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a book for children, The Other Way to Listen ties in really well with the Oprah/Eckhart Tolle A New Earth discussion. It is really about the art of being still and being one with the earth. Beautiful poetry, powerful images of the southwest. Another wonderful book by Byrd Baylor!

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend in our writer's group, who is a retired teacher, brought this book last week, and three others. The words are music, the drawings inspired. Put together by the publisher in an inspired association, the author, a southwest naturalist, writes of the connection between people and the land. The illustrator shows us how that looks. Beautiful.

[Eitan Abir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my favorite children book. My mother read it to me at an early age and it has really made an impression on me. A MUST read! Anyone considering reading it, regardless of age, should pick up a copy and read through it - only then can you experience the magic it has to offer :)

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another work of splendor for Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall. I anticipate reading this book with students and having them learn to quiet themselves and listen to see if they can hear the words of a tree or blade of grant or handful of dirt. If only...if only.

[jennyreadit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything by Byrd Baylor. Inspiring.... powerful.....peaceful. This book is a gentle reminder of how we need to be still and listen and appreciate the beauty of nature. A young boy also listens to the wisdom of an older man.

[Maria Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is such an interesting person -- she's 90 and lives with practically no electricity in the desert. Here is an interview and article about her:
https://www.azpm.org/s/4872-a-visit-w...

[Hira · Rating 5 out of 5]

questioning

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a magical book - truly speaks to a lover of the desert... illustrations are just as magical as the story.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Other Way to Listen (Paperback)
by Byrd Baylor
an interesting resource for teaching art, used in elementary art rooms to help with simple lesson plans about art, and lines