Kirsten Debear

Summary: This book follows two four-year-old girls, Marina and Moira. The main part of the book is the story of how the two girls, who at first did not get along, came to be friends. At the end of the story, there is a page-long section that briefly discusses the two girls' disabilities (Marina has cerebral palsy; Moira has Down syndrome).

Review: I liked this book because it follows two children with disabilities, but is not about them and their disabilities. Instead, author Kirsten Debear show more writes the story as one that every child can probably relate to: becoming friends with someone it seemed that you could never get along with. And yet, this book is informational, because, at the end of the story, Debear includes a section about the two girls' disabilities. However, she uses phrases like "We all" to make general statements that emphasize Marina and Moira's similarities to "normal" children, who are presumably the target audience of the book. I thought that this book was really well written, and that the photographs were both helpful and adorable. The only thing keeping me from giving this book 5 stars is the formatting of the book; I found the page layouts somewhat distracting at times, with too many pictures and/or the text divided in a somewhat confusing way. But aside from that, I think that the book is excellent.

Central Idea of Be Quiet, Marina: What we have in common with each other is more important than the differences between us. show less

I loved that the illustrations for this book were photographs of the two children. That made it a little easier to understand what the two looked like and i enjoyed looking at the memories they made together through real photographs instead of drawn illustrations. I was glad to see character development in Moira because she learned to tell Marina to be quiet instead of running away from her. There was an important lesson in this book because it shows that even though the two girls had show more different disabilities, their thoughts and feelings were the same. They are also like everyone else in that they just want to play and make friends. I really enjoyed this book. show less

As the book states perfectly in the explanation in the back of the story, its main message is “…in spite of difficulties and differences, we can all get along”. This is an absolutely wonderful story. I love how the author and illustrator come together to make a real life story about two very different girls. I think it is brilliant that they chose characters that are very different and how their friendship is demonstrated. The story proves that despite their differences, the two girls show more make it work. For example, Marina has Cerebral Palsy, and Moria has Down syndrome. I also like how in the beginning the author compares and contrasts the characters to show children that they may be similar in some ways, but they are also very different. For example, “Marina likes noise. She likes to scream and shout.” And “Moria did not like noise. She liked to sit quietly in her cubby”. I think that it is great that the author put an explanation in the back of the book, explaining how Marina and Moria are not only different from one another, but they are very different from other children in general. Then, the author goes on to describe how each child has a disability and how this disability affects their everyday life, but then pulls the story together by stating the main message. Children can really learn from this story and learn to understand that it is okay to be different, friendship is possible with anyone. show less

This story is so good it should be in every child and educator's library. It tells the true story of two friends, Moira and Marina, who couldn't play together at first because of their differences. But they eventually come to be best friends and enjoy playing together.

Marina was born with Cerebral Palsy and Moira was born with Down's syndrome. The story discusses some of the ways that their special needs make them frustrated and their communication strained, at times. Together, the girls show more explore the values of respect, friendship and model positive interactions and support for individuals with special needs.
Ages: 3 and up
Source: TCC ELC (Early Learning Center) show less