The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden

By Heather Smith, Rachel Wada (Illustrator)

A silent boy finds his voice through a mysterious phone booth connecting villagers to lost loved ones.

4.5/5 Goodreads · 877 ratings

32 pages· 541 words· Est. 5 min read-aloud

$19.95Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

After a tsunami silences his village and takes his father, young Makio is drawn to a mysterious phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden. Though disconnected, the phone becomes a bridge for villagers to speak to their lost loved ones. As Makio grapples with his grief and anger at the sea, he discovers the phone's true power and finds solace in its silent connection. Inspired by a real wind phone in Japan, this story explores healing and the unseen ties that bind us to those we've lost.

From the publisher

When the tsunami destroyed Makio’s village, Makio lost his father…and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child’s anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project—building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn’t connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind.

Inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

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