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Esti's Inside Voice

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

Esti has a big voice. It comes out of her like a trumpet.

When she is happy, it booms. When she tells a story, it rings through the whole house. At the park, it carries clear across the playground, and the other kids' mothers turn and smile.

"She's got a lot of enthusiasm," says Mrs. Gold, which is a nice way of saying she is loud.

At home, nobody minds much. But at school, things are different.

In the library, Esti finds a book about dinosaurs. She can't hold it in. "Look at this one! It's got a HORN on its HEAD!"

"Shh," say three girls at once.

In class, she raises her hand and answers a question before Morah Sima calls on her. Everyone turns and stares.

At lunch, Esti tells a funny story about her baby cousin. She tells it with all the sound effects. When she finishes, the whole lunchroom goes quiet, and the lunch lady is looking at her.

Esti's cheeks go red. She slides down in her chair.

After school, she tells her older sister Leah, "I don't like my voice. It's too loud. Everyone looks at me like I'm doing something wrong."

Leah puts down her book. "Your voice isn't wrong. It's just big. It's like a dial."

"A dial?"

"Like on the radio. Sometimes you turn it up for outside, like on the playground. Sometimes you turn it down for the library. Think of it as a one to ten."

Esti thinks. "So, playground is a nine."

"Right. What about the library?"

"A two."

"Great. And a bedtime story?"

"A one. Maybe a one and a half."

Leah grins. "See? You already know."

Esti tries it on the way to school the next morning. At the corner, she says "Good morning!" to the crossing guard in a nine voice, and he waves and shouts back. Then, when they reach the school door, she whispers, "Now it's a three."

In the hallway, she tunes it to a three-and-a-half. She says "Hi, Morah" in a soft, friendly voice.

In the library, she turns it all the way down to a two. She finds the dinosaur book. She leans over to her friend Bracha and whispers, "Look, a horn on its head."

Bracha giggles, quietly. It is the best giggle.

In the hallway, a teacher smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up. Esti feels taller. At recess, Esti spins the dial back to nine and lets out a huge, happy shout as she zips down the slide. Bracha laughs. A teacher glances over and smiles.

"I love your voice out here," says Bracha. "It sounds like fun."

"I turned it up!" says Esti. "It's a nine."

When she gets home, she draws a little picture of a dial on a sticky note: 1, 2, 3, all the way to 10. She sticks it on the mirror in her room.

At dinner, Totty says, "Esti, tell me about your day."

She takes a quick look at the table. Everyone is eating and talking. "A six," she says to herself. And she tells the whole story, with all the sound effects, at a perfect volume.