Winner of: Children's Picture Book Bronze (tie), 2013 Living Now Book Awards John is different. When other children began learning how to speak, John didn't. As he grew older, whenever he had to ask for something or wanted to express his feelings, he would simply whistle. John began using different kinds of whistles for different kinds of reasons: he blew a gentle whistle to call attention, a louder whistle when he was hungry, and an even louder one if something scared him.