Review by Booklist Review
This satisfying picture book about sound comes from the author-illustrator team who created Flash and Gleam (2020), a book about light. Beginning first thing in the morning and continuing through bedtime, families in four different international settings experience sounds related to their natural worlds: wind and water, weather, birds and animals. Facing spreads consider one concept at a time, and the full-page illustrations are set off by four- or five-word unpunctuated rhyming couplets that effortlessly convey both everyday and special events. Waking up, "Hearts thump / Beat and pump." Later on, an avalanche: "Crack! ß´/ Slide / Mountainside." In Africa, elephants "Trumpet / Pound / Shake the Ground," and on an ending page, a mother kisses her son (and his cat) goodnight: "Purr / Snore / Sounds . . . no more." Simple descriptions align perfectly with the busily detailed mixed-media images. Back matter offers age-relevant technical explanations and a few fun facts. This nicely complements introductory science units and will also remind readers to slow down, take a minute, and listen.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Readers journey around the world in this rhyming romp. The story begins in the morning, with sounds outside a window of a nondescript home, and takes readers across the world from mountains to volcanoes, from the savanna to the ocean, and ends back in a cozy bedroom. The rhymes are heavily reliant on onomatopoeia and will make for a fun read-aloud. Some spreads are textless, but the pictures bring to life various lively images of nature where readers can easily imagine chirping birds, rushing water, and other sounds. The illustrations are vibrant and full color, and the people depicted are of diverse races. Back matter includes factual information on sound, heartbeats, and animal communication that could potentially be used to support elementary school lessons; however, the target audience is unlikely to comprehend these more complex concepts. VERDICT This beautifully illustrated rhyming text will make a good read-aloud and can be used to spark conversations about sounds in the world.--Ellen Conlin
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Four children in different countries hear a plethora of sounds in their natural surroundings. As they explore the great outdoors, the two boys and two girls of varying ethnicities are told to "listen. / Hear. / Cup your ear." They take note of the sounds made by the human body, the weather, various animals, and even a fiery volcano. On a farm in the USA, there is the "whistle, whir" of birds singing and flying past and the "screech and howl" of an owl and woodland foxes in the adjacent woods. In a tropical jungle in Brazil, there is the "drip, drop, drum" of rain and the "roar and WHOOSH" of a nearby waterfall. Readers are also transported to an alpine meadow filled with the "chomp and chew" of grazing cows and to a riverfront town in South Africa where the "slosh and lap" of waves greets the ear. Finally, as the day comes to an end and the kids return indoors to read and paint before going to bed, other sounds emerge: "whisper, / shush, / slumber, hush. / Purr, / snore, / sounds…no more." The spare, rhyming text, consisting largely (but not exclusively) of onomatopoeic words, is enhanced by colorful, panoramic, scenic illustrations created with mixed media and Photoshop. The backmatter includes two pages of detailed information about "The Science of Sounds," complete with "FUN FACT" sidelights and textbooklike diagrams of the human ear and human vocal cords. A lyrical soundscape that leaves room for observation and makes space for scientific discussion. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
