Reviewed by Lois J Wickstrom for Readers' Favorite

Mickey lives on a farm and he loves it. He loves animals. He loves the plants. He loves feeding the chickens and pressing the grapes and harvesting the herbs. He also loves playing in the water, but until recently, he avoided being splashed because water ruined his cochlears. Mickey was born deaf in both ears. He got computer ears, called cochlears, that let him hear soft sounds like birds tweeting and rain falling. But if they got wet, they stopped working, so Mickey couldn’t splash, play in mud puddles, run in the rain, or swim. Even pouring water into the chickens’ dish could ruin them, and he‘d be deaf again until he could get them fixed. But now, he has new water-proof cochlears, called Aqua Cochlears. Now he can play in the water and still hear everything he wants to hear. Mickey on the Move: Farming by Michelle Wagner, with illustrations by Jenny Phelps, describes the things Mickey can do now that he has water-proof cochlears. Improvements in technology have improved Mickey’s life.

Mickey on the Move: Farming by Michelle Wagner is Wagner’s second book about her son Mickey. Wagner’s first book, Mickey on the Move, also illustrated by Jenny Phelps, talked about how Mickey adapted to school and how everyone at his new school helped him when the room got too noisy or he got confused. Several illustrations in this book show where the implant sits in Mickey’s head. And one illustration shows how the implant attaches to a device that sits on Mickey’s ear. This is helpful because readers will know how to recognize a child who may need their help. It’s nice to know that they don’t have to avoid splashing him and that he can run and play in all kinds of weather.

I enjoyed Michelle Wagner's Mickey on the Move: Farming because it made me feel the excitement of people who are born deaf, but thanks to new technology can hear and play, even in water. A whole new world of exploration has opened up for them. The illustrations by Jenny Phelps brought to life the struggles and life of a young boy who was born deaf in both ears, but then was able to hear through the use of implants. The writing was clear and the illustrations complimented the story very well. This is a helpful book to read to children with hearing issues who will be getting implants. It will also be reassuring to their classmates, teachers and families.