Original price was: $12.00.$10.00Current price is: $10.00. incl tax
A cute and fun easy-to-follow children’s book. I love the fun rhymes along with the education about deafness, and especially the addition of sign language. — Rikki Poynter, Content Creator, Writer, Accessibility Consultant & Public Speaker
Inspired by Munzi-Logus’ real-life son, who was born with microtia, this tale serves as a powerful ode to the beauty of our differences and offers a memorable, uplifting lesson for kids about the importance of acceptance and kindness. — BookLife (full review)
Buy from any of our affiliate partners, including:
The world’s largest bookstore
Email for discounts on class sets.
Description
Looking for a picture book about microtia? A sweet and gentle way to introduce disability and diversity to children? Jojo’s Tiny Ear is charming, hand-illustrated book for kids that tells the story of the author’s son, Jojo, and his hearing disability.
Jojo is a happy boy who loves fireworks, the zoo, swings, and trucks! He was also born with a hearing disability. In this inspiring, child-friendly kid’s book about hearing disability, written by his mother, Jojo will tell you all about his favorite things. He’ll also answer your questions about his tiny ear and show you that his disability doesn’t stop him from enjoying his life!
Author and illustrator Stefania Munzi-Logus writes lovingly, but informatively, about her son, his condition, and how to communicate with people with hearing disabilities.
“Be proud of what makes you, you.
We all thrive with our own technique.
You are valuable too.
The world is more beautiful when we are all unique.”
This is a picture book about microtia. But the real message for kids and parents alike is that differences are ok and that everybody is a little bit different!
Check out the “Press about Jojo” tab to read more about Stefania and Jojo and their story, including a recent segment on Wednesday’s Warrior: Jojo’s Tiny Ear brings awareness to hearing loss for children and a Live Chat and Read Aloud with Sheryl Lewin, MD!
Additional information
| ISBN | 978-1956159059 |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Pages | 28 pages |
| Size | 8.5 x 8.5 inches |
| Writer |
Press about Jojo
Wednesday’s Warrior: Jojo’s Tiny Ear brings awareness to hearing loss for children, a segment on Jojo with Alyssa Rae Taglia for WTNH. Lots of footage of Jojo being cute!
Live Chat and Read Aloud with Sheryl Lewin, MD: A great interview with Dr. Lewin, tiny ear specialist and also a read aloud of the book!
Bright Spot: High School teacher raises awareness for hearing loss through art, interview on WFSB with Nicole Nalepa
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Stef Munzi-Logus Uses Art to Bring Awareness to Hearing Loss, profile on Zip06 with Jenn Mculloch
Author Interview with Literary Titans: More about what lead Stefania to write the book and her process for writing and painting the illustrations!
Reader and Critical Reviews
“An upbeat, personalized picture book about a boy’s experiences with microtia, Jojo’s Tiny Ear encourages others to appreciate the seen and unseen differences between people.” — Alex Dailey, Foreword Reviews
“I adored the story and the passion the author has put into her writing. …Overall, it is a sweet, quick read that teaches children about Microtia and will hopefully have them understanding and being empathetic to someone with the condition.” — Stacey, Whispering Stories (full review)
“Ms. Munzi-Logus has written and illustrated a heartfelt book which celebrates a young boy born with a small ear. Learning about this condition through the eyes of this joyful and accepting child’s feelings could be illuminating for anyone not familiar with this condition.” — Patty Lakin, author of Dad and Me in the Morning
“JoJo’s Tiny Ear is a wonderfully educational story that promotes acceptance, diversity, inclusion and being comfortable with who you are. I really loved how Jojo stood up to the bullies by educating them on his condition. This vibrant picture book will entertain as well as it educates” — Literary Titans (full review)
“This book would be perfect for a child that is just a little different… or who has a classmate or friend who is.” — Jamie Jack, Goodreads
“Thank you for bringing awareness and understanding to facial differences and hearing loss. This beautifully illustrated children’s book can help facilitate dialogue towards empathy and compassion.” — Dr. Sheryl Lewin, Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgeon (Tiny Ear Specialist)
“A wonderful book about differences. …The illustrations are very colourful and nice.” — Marichus Real, Goodreads
“This beautifully illustrated book shares a powerful message about how kids who have differences are typical kids. They want to be included and treated like any other kid.” —Valli Gideons, author of Now Hear This: Harper Soars with her Magic Ears
“JoJo’s Tiny Ear highlights how ‘different’ is just a simple explanation away from being wonderful, accepted, and valued.” — Dr. Joseph Veth, Professor of Education, Albertus Magnus College
“A wonderful book about inclusion and acceptance. Jojo is a resilient young boy who is full of life and, with the help of his mom, brings awareness to microtia. Through the book, Jojo teaches everyone that just because something may be different; you can still play, reach far places, and enjoy life all the same.” — Nicole Cossette, Doctoral Candidate, Infant and Early Childhood Development, Fielding Graduate University
“A playful and informative story about living with microtia. As someone who was born with microtia as well, it is important for stories like this one to introduce children and families to the specifics associated with the condition.” — Dr. Justine Green, author of Completely Me
“an inspiring and sweet story…told in rhyming verse and accompanied by bright, colorful illustrations, this heartwarming story [is] Beautifully told.” Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Readers’ Favorite (full review)
“… a must read for parents teaching their children about empathy and compassion.” — Victoria Irwin, Reedsy’s Discovery (full review)
“The fact that it highlights we are all unique sends a simple, but strong message that while each of us are different we all share the same challenges in life – albeit in different ways and that each obstacle can be overcome with each incremental step! This story book for young children encapsulates that very essence – I know this – for I am deaf, too.” — Carl Morris, World Pool Champion
“An enjoyable story of difference and acceptance” — Kirkus Reviews
Born in a Pandemic
After a difficult pregnancy, including a life-threatening bout with pre-eclampsia, Stefania, a Wallingford-based art teacher who teaches in the Hartford Public School system, gave birth to her first son, Joseph in 2019. Healthy in all other ways, Joseph was born with microtia, meaning that he has an undeveloped ear and the ear canal is blocked.
In the process of getting all the follow-up appointments required for Joseph’s condition, during the start of an unprecedented global pandemic, Stefania, who had taught at The Grove School for children with special needs, realized that she had never met a child with microtia and that there was very little representation out there. She began doing portraits of Jojo that featured his “tiny” ear and hearing aid. As she shared them in communities for the hard of hearing, she got a lot of requests to paint other people’s children. In the process, the local NBC station and papers picked up her story. Many members of the disability community were grateful for her work portrating difference, instead of hiding it!
That positive attention led her to write Jojo’s Tiny Ear as a kind of love poem to her son. The picture book about microtia features some of those first portraits of Jojo. It also addresses some common questions about microtia such as, “Why does his ear look like that?” “Why does he need a headband if he’s a boy?” and “What is microtia anyway?”
The overriding message is one of tolerance and inclusion-difference is normal and that’s ok!
Support from the community for her book has been overwhelming. Her book has been mentioned by Cece Bell, author of El Deafo and she did a live book-reading and interview with Dr. Lewin, a prominent plastic surgeon for children with disabilities. Dr. Justine Green, Vailli Gideon, Patty Lakin, and other authors have also shown unbelievable support for this first picture book by a talented writer and artist!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A sweet, heartfelt story from the author’s own experiences and a nice message about how our differences make us unique.
Amazing ✨⭐✨
This children’s book is heartwarming.
I would read this to my children.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cute wee book!
Microtia won’t stop JoJo from living a full life! Beautiful book about a little boy living a full life and teaching others about Microtia.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I wear a hearing device and this book was a great way to explain “why daddy wears a hearing aid” to my young children. We really enjoyed this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
beautiful art
A great story with beautiful illustrations
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful book kids love
The pictures in this book are beautiful. The book has an inclusive message and teaches kids about hearing impairments in an age-appropriate way. I teach kids and they love this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What a wonderful story! So beneficial to many, big or small! A book to read by a wonderful mom!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I also have a child with microtia and I was very excited to purchase this book. The illustrations and story line are wonderful. I have followed the author/illustrator on social media and have watched a lot of interviews with her and I think she is amazing. Her own personal story is very inspiring and gives me hope. I highly recommend this book for any parents of children with microtia or hearing loss.
A wonderful book about differences. Jojo is a boy with a small ear. It is so small it doesn’t work properly. He has a special device to help him hear. He uses sign language to communicate with the people around him.
It is important to teach children that being different is what makes the world more interesting.
The illustrations are very colourful and nice.