The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska

Rating: 3 stars

We've been reading a lot of David Shannon books (more on him soon) so when I finally tracked down The Quiet Book at the bookstore today I chuckled throughout it.

Let me describe the book first, and then I'll get to the chuckling.

It's a beautifully illustrated book that explains all the different "quiets" that exist.  For example:  "Quiet can be delicate. / Quiet can be thundering! / Quiet can be sweet, and cozy, / and can most definitely help you fall asleep."  The text is sparse and the animals in the images are really cute.

It is--don't laugh--a quiet book, and one that might relax a fidgety child as they fall asleep at naptime or bedtime.  I was actually a little surprised at how many rave reviews it got on Amazon from parents who say that their children request it again and again.  Many of them said that they liked how the book engaged their kids enough so that they did settle down and become quiet.  Others said that they liked how the book urges kids to think about the different types of quiet throughout the day and week.  More than a few said that they liked how this book talks about the emotions behind quiet.  Hmm. 

Ok, back to the David Shannon.  Has anyone read Oh, David?  Or Alice the Fairy?  If you put one of these books next to The Quiet Book you'll have complete, polar opposites.  Most of David Shannon's books are written so much for children that I wonder if he actually scribbled down the text a few decades ago while he should have been paying attention to his fifth grade math teacher.  And his drawings are wonderful bursts of childhood--really messy and magical. 

This is an example of how some books are just right for your child, and others are just right for mine.  Or, probably more accurate, this book isn't for my children right now.  Maybe next week!  When it gets to the library, we'll check it out and try it out at home.