When Bryn’s Ear Went Quiet

A young girl prepares for cochlear implant surgery

When Bryn was four, she could hear birds chirping in the tall trees outside her house. But at seven, she can only hear those chirps in her left ear. Her right ear has become quieter. A hearing aid helps, but it isn’t always perfect.

So, when Bryn learns about an operation called a cochlear implant that would improve her hearing, she jumps at the opportunity. Surgery can be scary, but her parents, doctors, and nurses help ease her anxieties. And with the help of her lucky rainbow elastic, hugs from her parents, and her own excitement, Bryn’s bravery shines through her fears. She can’t wait to hear the birds chirping and her mother singing in her right ear again.

This positive, evocative story gently uses a child’s perspective to capture the experience of going to the hospital to have cochlear implant surgery, and all the emotions that go along with it.

NANCY HUNDAL is a celebrated children’s author and retired teacher-librarian from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her writing is inspired by all the great kids in her life, past and present. She lives on the beautiful West Coast she’s been fortunate to call home her whole life.

ELLEN ROONEY has illustrated more than a dozen picture books, including A Park Connects Us and What to Bring, and likes to create colourful textures to use in her art. Ellen lives in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. She loves to hear the birds outside her studio singing while she works.