There's a new boy in Philip's class who acts quite a bit differently from Philip's other classmates. Philip and his best friend Emery set out to discover why. This book deals with hearing loss and curiosity.
 

“Wait,” said Philip. “I’ll play with you if you want to.”
The boy kept walking. He didn’t look back. Philip watched as the boy tossed the ball up, caught it, and kept on going.
Philip wrinkled his forehead. What was wrong with this kid? He hadn’t even said hello or anything. Philip had offered to play with him, but the kid had just walked away. Philip thought of his lunch dishes and realized he wasn’t someone who was fussy about manners. But this kid didn’t have any. Philip hoped the boy wasn’t planning to go to his school, Donovan Elementary. And if he did go there, he’d better not be a third-grader like Philip was. Philip decided, shy or not, the less he saw of this new boy the happier he would be.