Rosie, a 12-year-old musical prodigy with synesthesia, perceives music in color. After enduring years of her mother’s pressure to become a concert violinist, she yearns for a respite. However, an unexpected summer spent with her grandparents and a time glitch altered her life completely. Rosie suddenly encounters her mother as a child. In this episode, author Emily Barth Isler speaks with host Annisha Jeffries about The Color of Sound, Jewish family traditions, the generational tug-of-war, and the significant impact of learning to listen.

In This Episode:
🎻 Writing about synesthesia with lyrical detail
📖 How Jewish culture and family shape Rosie’s story
💬 What happens when kids confront family expectations
🕰️ Time travel as a metaphor for empathy and repair
📚 Connections to Emily’s debut novel AfterMath
🎧 Crafting middle grade fiction that honors “big feelings”

Books Mentioned:

• The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler

• AfterMath by Emily Barth Isler

Perfect For:
✔️ Middle grade readers who love emotional, character-driven stories
✔️ Educators exploring family, identity, and creative self-expression
✔️ Librarians looking for diverse, layered fiction with intergenerational themes
✔️ Listeners interested in how time, memory, and storytelling collide

Where to Find the Book:
The Color of Sound is available wherever books are sold.
Support independent bookstores at bookshop.org.

Stay Connected:
📸 Instagram: @reading_in_the_middle
📬 Email: @readinginthemiddle. blog
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