Decibella and Her 6 Inch Voice

by Julia Cook, Anita DuFalla (Illustrator)

Isabella is a spirited girl who enjoys shouting out her thoughts, ideas and feelings. In fact, she loves using her loud voice so much, it's earned her the nickname "Decibella!" Young readers will be entertained as they see how Isabella learns the "five volumes" of voice and discovers that different situations require different tone.
Award-winning author Julia Cook uses a fun, yet educational, style to show kids how and when to use their five voices - whisper, 6-inch, table-talk, strong speaker and outside.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Fiction, Writing, Love, Parenting

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 21, 2014

About the author

"In order to teach children, you must enter their view of the world."
~ Julia Cook

JULIA COOK, M.S. is a national award winning children’s author, counselor and parenting expert. She has presented in thousands of schools across the country and abroad, regularly speaks at national education and counseling conferences, and has published children’s books on a wide range of character and social development topics. The goal behind Cook’s work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers. Inspiration for her books comes from working with children and carefully listening to counselors, parents, and teachers, in order to stay on top of needs in the classroom and at home. Cook has the innate ability to enter the worldview of a child through storybooks, giving children both the “what to say” and the “how to say it”.

Reviews

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this to my son, who has trouble controlling his volume. Hopefully he remembers some of the wording this book uses to help him.

[Jodie | GeauxGetLit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this for my 7 year old autistic son, who has trouble understanding what is an inside voice? I thought this book would help, but sadly when he gets excited or stims, his voice level rises. It is an automatic response. We did enjoy the book though and my kids giggled with it. So, yes it’s a good funny kids book. But, if you think this will solve the problem of kids too loud...maybe not, unless you have a really young child.

[Katie]

Pinnell, G. S., & Fountas, I. C. (2006). Engaging readers in thinking and talking about texts through interactive read aloud. Teaching for comprehending and fluency: Thinking, talking, and writing about reading, k-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing.

Narrative:

“We have been talking about how there are different situations in school that require a different voice volume. Does everyone remember what I mean when I say voice volume? (Students respond) Right, how loud or soft you voice should be at a given time of day or during a specific situation. Can anyone give me an example of when our voices should be completely off? (Students respond) Right, we should have voices off when we are walking in the halls. How about a loud voice? (Students respond) You can have a loud voice when you are playing outside on the playground. Today we are going to read the book Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice by Julia Cook. This is a book about a girl who learns about the 5 volumes of voice and discovers that there are different situations to use each volume of voice.”

Opening moves:
• Activate background knowledge
• Raise interest in a topic or theme

Rationale:

I selected this book to use with my students at the beginning of the school year to teach about the different levels of voice volume to use inside the classroom and around the school. This story is about a girl who loves to shout out her thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This book aligns well with the text set because it provides my students with an opportunity to relate to the character, as it emphasizes skills to help them become better communicators.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for teaching children about appropriate volumes to use when speaking. I like that it lays out different situations and what voice is best, whisper, 6 inch, table talk, strong voice and outside voice. It also empowers children because it speaks about them being able to choose which voice to use.
At the end of the book there are helpful tips for parents and educators which mention reasons children may use voices that are too loud. Also, strategies are mention like, rewards, preparing for times when children get loud due to boredom, hunger, and when they are loud because they desire attention. This is a page that shouldn’t be overlooked.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though Isabella likes to be called by her name, sometimes people call her Decibella, but she has no idea why. Nearly everyone has to say shhhh since she speaks way too loud. So her teacher has her stay in for recess so she can brag on Isabella’s achievements, and let her know that there are 5 different volumes of voices that we can speak with: whisper, 6 inch, table talk, outside, and strong speaker. They practice these volumes together and practice what volume of voice should be used in different settings. But will this simple lesson work for Decibella . . . I mean Isabella?  

Cons:  None

Pros:   This is a wonderful resource for everyone, but especially classroom teachers. It opens lots of opportunities to practice volume control without having to single anyone out. In fact, in the future, without saying shhhh one of the types of talk could be said as a coded reminder.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decibella is loud, even during times when it’s disruptive and uncalled for. It doesn’t matter if she’s with an adult, at the movies, or at a restaurant…she uses her yelling voice. Her caring teacher steps in and helps her in a fun and thoughtful manner. She lets Decibella know that voices can be regulated into different volume levels depending on place and situation. Decibella gets to practice these volumes so that she can be considerate and respectful to the people around her, and she also gets to enjoy more things being on the same page as everyone else. Some children do struggle with the volume of their voice by always being loud, which is why this book belongs in every school and classroom library. There’s backmatter for parents and educators with a list of strategies on how to assist these children.

[Leann Short · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary


Isabella is a loud and proud little girl with no filter to hold back her thoughts, opinions, and feelings. She learns five different volumes in order to speak. She has to learn how to talk to her friends and what volume is correct.

Evaulation

This is a simple book for younger grades. I love how simple this book is an it uses different size words to emphize how important the words are. They have big writting and is easy to read.

Teaching Idea

This book is great to teach kids outside voices and inside voices. Some kids do not understand whipser voices, this is a great book to teach the kids what voice you should use when.

[Sadia Mansoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children must learn to voice out their opinion, but they should also know that they must control the PITCH of their voices in a certain way according to their situations.
In this book, we get to learn the five Voice Volumes ( Whisper, 6 - Inch, Table Talk, Strong Speaker and Outside ), where we learn how to speak till a certain pitch (from softest to the loudest) according to the situations we are in. Kids must know the differences between all these volumes and where to use them.
Recommended to all adults and children

Go ahead and find out from this interesting book here >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nio9I...

[Rida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so bad for her because I felt that way growing up. I am so glad that Isabella's teacher was kind enough to talk to her and teach her the difference between voices. This is a great book to explain to children how to talk without making them feel bad about the way they talk. Some children talk loudly because they feel like they are not being heard. I found this book to be a beautiful way to make children feel comfortable all the while getting the expectations of voice levels across.

Thank you for writing this book!

[Lauren Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and thought it would be a good book for any teacher to have in their classroom. This books talks about voice levels which is important in the classroom. Sometimes students can get out of hand and raise their voice instead of using their inside voice. I think as a teacher if you have a loud and talkative class then this book would be good to read to them.

[Doha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love many of Julia Cook's books, and this was no exception! When my students seem to forget how to use their inside voice, "Decibella and Her 6-inch Voice" is my go to book. I usually pair this text with an activity where students make a promise to control their voice in the classroom by doing ________; afterwards we hang up our posters around the classroom as a daily reminder of our promises.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decibella and her 6-inch voice is about a little girl with a big loud voice. Whenever she speaks someone is telling her to tone down the volume of her voice. In Decibella and her 6-inch voice we learn we have five voice volumes. Decibella and her 6-inch voice was a delightful read that I’m sure children will enjoy along with the artful illustrations.

[Cindy Janett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! It served as a great reminder to students about how loud they can be. It also helped to talk with them about their noise level in certain places and how loud they can talk here in the classroom.

[Shamaa Farah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice is the story about Decibella who is a young girl that likes to shout out her feelings and thoughts. She yells and screams often and throughout the story, she learns about the “5 volumes” and how to use the different voices in different situations and different environments. This is a great book for students to learn to use their inside voices when needed and to adjust the volume of their voice depending on their settings around them.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the message of this book and how Decibella is able to learn how to use her voice appropriately depending on the situation/location. Might use this next year for the first couple weeks of school as a teaching tool to help students know which voice to use when...

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isabella tends to be a loud girl no matter where she is her teacher decides to teach her about five different voice volumes to help her and throughout her life Isabella figures out how to use them appropriately and is an expert

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is straight to the point, approachable and funny. The kids loved it. A great teaching book for classroom expectations.

[Sussu Leclerc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for parents who have children who yell all the time. Instructional.

[Brooke Holzbaur]

This is entertaining. This book can help find the appropriate level of voice.

[Alissa Peanasky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sets it up to easily implement this language into a classroom if it was needed.

[Jnase1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be a good read for teaching younger students about voice-level, though I did find it a bit wordy.

[LittleE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very helpful for our 4 YO in explaining her "inside" or "six inch" voice. She LOVED practicing all the voices with us at home.

[Mellanie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is adorable. I'm going to use it with my drama club kids.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great way to teach appropriate voice levels for different situations.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the read aloud by Jason and he did well with the different voice types.

[Malachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate you all I can not read it

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for beginning of the year.

[Jillian Remington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a book goal to reach and a chatty classroom 🫡

[PottWab Regional Library]

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[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to work on those loud talkers in the classroom.