Close Modal

Hearing Things

TOON Level Two

Author Ben Sears
Illustrated by Ben Sears
Look inside
Hardcover
6.31"W x 9.38"H x 0.36"D   | 7 oz | 60 per carton
On sale Sep 03, 2024 | 40 Pages | 9781662665431
Age 5-7 years
Reading Level: Lexile GN500L | Fountas & Pinnell L
FOC Aug 5, 2024 | Catalog July 2024
Sometimes the spookiest thing of all isn’t a haunted house!

In this spine-tingling graphic novel, Tim and his big sister Martha are new to the neighborhood. Tim likes to record sounds on adventures with his cat, Frankie. Martha likes to make scary music. Nothing has been right for her since the move: Her music stinks! What if she never has friends again! Tim goes on a quest: if he can record something bone-chilling, then Martha can finish her song. But even the block’s haunted house is silent. Just when Tim is ready to give up, Frankie helps him find a way, with the help of some new, unexpected friends.
BEN SEARS has lived in Kentucky his whole life. Raised in a house full of rock and roll music, he played drums in punk bands until he realized he would rather spend all his time drawing pictures and making comics. He has three cats: Harper, Kiwi, and Junior, who likes to stand by the door waiting to go out for a walk on a leash. Like Tim, Ben loves going around his neighborhood to record the sounds of nature—the creek by his house, the wind shaking the trees, or the insects buzzing away. Ben used to love loud noises, but now that he is older, he has learned to appreciate quiet. He goes to sleep every night reading the adventures of Charlie Brown in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts.
Available for sale exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Australia
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahamas
•     Bahrain
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Belize
•     Benin
•     Bermuda
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Botswana
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Canada
•     Cape Verde
•     Cayman Islands
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Cyprus
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominica
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Faroe Islands
•     Fiji
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Gambia
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Grenada
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guam
•     Guatemala
•     Guernsey
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Guyana
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     India
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Jamaica
•     Japan
•     Jersey
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Lesotho
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Malta
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mauritius
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Montserrat
•     Morocco
•     Mozambique
•     Myanmar
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     New Zealand
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Nigeria
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     North Mariana
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Pakistan
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Philippines
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Puerto Rico
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Saint Martin
•     Samoa,American
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     Sri Lanka
•     St Barthelemy
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Swaziland
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Tanzania
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA
•     Uganda
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     United Kingdom
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vanuatu
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

"No macabre vibes here, just some supernatural fun.... A solid, spooky tale, with vintage-quality illustrations." Kirkus Reviews

"Ghostly shenanigans take center stage in this graphic novel...which also offers an intriguing picture of a sibling relationship—low-key in its expression but deep in its connection." —Publishers Weekly

“This story combines the apprehension of moving to a new town, the determination of one sibling to help another, the spine-tingling fear of a haunted house, and the cunning of a resolute cat—all in one brief, absorbing graphic novel… The cartooning is fast paced and easy to follow, with just enough text bubbles to establish context and communicate the hilarious and all-knowing motivations of Frankie (who steals the show). The use of bright colors on every page and in many panels’ onomatopoeia (to express the spooky sounds) makes the “scary” parts still whimsical and entertaining. Plus, readers will love being let in on the big secret of the story, known only to them and Frankie.” –The Horn Book

Educator Guide for Hearing Things

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

Sometimes the spookiest thing of all isn’t a haunted house!

In this spine-tingling graphic novel, Tim and his big sister Martha are new to the neighborhood. Tim likes to record sounds on adventures with his cat, Frankie. Martha likes to make scary music. Nothing has been right for her since the move: Her music stinks! What if she never has friends again! Tim goes on a quest: if he can record something bone-chilling, then Martha can finish her song. But even the block’s haunted house is silent. Just when Tim is ready to give up, Frankie helps him find a way, with the help of some new, unexpected friends.

Creators

BEN SEARS has lived in Kentucky his whole life. Raised in a house full of rock and roll music, he played drums in punk bands until he realized he would rather spend all his time drawing pictures and making comics. He has three cats: Harper, Kiwi, and Junior, who likes to stand by the door waiting to go out for a walk on a leash. Like Tim, Ben loves going around his neighborhood to record the sounds of nature—the creek by his house, the wind shaking the trees, or the insects buzzing away. Ben used to love loud noises, but now that he is older, he has learned to appreciate quiet. He goes to sleep every night reading the adventures of Charlie Brown in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts.

Praise

"No macabre vibes here, just some supernatural fun.... A solid, spooky tale, with vintage-quality illustrations." Kirkus Reviews

"Ghostly shenanigans take center stage in this graphic novel...which also offers an intriguing picture of a sibling relationship—low-key in its expression but deep in its connection." —Publishers Weekly

“This story combines the apprehension of moving to a new town, the determination of one sibling to help another, the spine-tingling fear of a haunted house, and the cunning of a resolute cat—all in one brief, absorbing graphic novel… The cartooning is fast paced and easy to follow, with just enough text bubbles to establish context and communicate the hilarious and all-knowing motivations of Frankie (who steals the show). The use of bright colors on every page and in many panels’ onomatopoeia (to express the spooky sounds) makes the “scary” parts still whimsical and entertaining. Plus, readers will love being let in on the big secret of the story, known only to them and Frankie.” –The Horn Book

Teacher Guides

Educator Guide for Hearing Things

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Penguin Random House Comics Retail