Carly Simon Encourages Music-Making in The Boy of the Bells

I’m very familiar with Carly Simon as a singer-songwriter, but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that she has also written children’s books. One of them is The Boy of the Bells, a charming story set in the far north town of Noel. The village is so far north, in fact, that it is the first stop on Santa’s annual trek, and it is the task of the local bell ringer to signal midnight, the time for the journey to begin.

Ben is a young boy whose grandfather usually has that job, but this year, Grandfather Juniper’s mind is on other things. Ben’s sister, Miranda, has stopped speaking. It’s been months since anyone heard a peep out of her. The situation has him so upset that he asks Ben to do his job for him. Though he is proud and excited to have been given such an important job, Ben worries about Miranda as well and misses their conversations. Hence, he decides to use his position to summon Santa early and see if he can suggest anything that might help her.

Simon’s prose has a lyrical quality to it, particularly when she describes the dreams of the villagers on the night before Christmas. Embedded in the story are lessons about responsibility and musicianship; it should probably come as no surprise that a woman who has made a career out of music would make a voice and musical instruments the focal points of her story. The “make your own kind of music” theme plays out especially well.

Speaking of that Cass Elliot song, I couldn’t help thinking of LOST as I finished reading this book. That’s because it introduces a major oddity and never explains it. Why did Miranda suddenly lose her voice? Santa tells Ben, “I can’t always tell you why some things happen the way they do. There are many mysteries in the universe.” This seems like a line from Across the Sea, the much-reviled episode that attempts to answer several of the show’s remaining questions but ultimately introduces just as many. For the most part, those hoping for concrete answers came away disappointed, and I suspect that may be the case in this book as well.

However, even though she doesn’t tell us what happened to Miranda to make her stop speaking, Simon weaves an endearing tale of sibling love and creative expression. Additionally, each of the women dedicates the book to her son and his grandfathers, accentuating the sense of family connection within its pages. Margo Datz’s illustrations have a Scandinavian flavor to them, and the full-page paintings, framed with wooden borders, are filled with details that give readers a very strong sense of place, particularly with the clothing that the characters wear.

Unexplained afflictions aside, The Boy of the Bells is a well-crafted book that recognizes the beauty of music and family, and I look forward to reading Simon’s other forays into children’s literature.