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Too Noisy!
A read-aloud (shout-aloud?) comedy from Malachy Doyle, boldly illustrated by Ed Vere, reminds us there’s no place like home — no matter how noisy.
The Bungles sure are a large and noisy bunch! So noisy that Sam, the middle Bungle, has no room to think and is desperate to escape his booming, twooting, banging, clanging family. So off he wanders into the woods for some peace and quiet. Deeper and deeper he goes, until . . . eek! What’s that climbing up his pant leg? Beek! What is flapping around his face? Eeky-beek! What could be sliding down his neck? HELP! Will he ever again hear the comforting cacophony of his own Bungle clan?
The Bungles sure are a large and noisy bunch! So noisy that Sam, the middle Bungle, has no room to think and is desperate to escape his booming, twooting, banging, clanging family. So off he wanders into the woods for some peace and quiet. Deeper and deeper he goes, until . . . eek! What’s that climbing up his pant leg? Beek! What is flapping around his face? Eeky-beek! What could be sliding down his neck? HELP! Will he ever again hear the comforting cacophony of his own Bungle clan?
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Malachy Doyle
154 books23 followersMalachy Doyle is the author of Antonio on the Other Side of the World, Getting Smaller and many other books for children. He lives in Donegal, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 25, 2012
Ed Vere! EEEEEDDDDDD VEEEEERE!
Orange gradients! Black silhouetted trees! Blobs of hot color! Purples that are plum or royal or twilight! Watery blue sky, fresh green grass. And a little family of - what are we here? raccoons? something raccoon-like anyway, with big googly eyes and weird bendy noses.
Unlike raccoons, however, this is a LOUD family. Like the Worms in Tony Johnson's The Family Worm. But the middle kid, Sam, finds his family to be TOO loud, so he takes off for the woods, enjoys the peace and quiet, composes a little poem, and gets lost. At which point he discovers that the family loudness can sometimes come in handy.
My husband has nine brothers and sisters. And I'll go ahead and say that sometimes, when two or more of them are together, it gets a little... volumetric. And also confess that, if one were not born into such a cacophony, one might head for the hills after the dishes have been cleared and the bourbon comes out. Or, oh Jesus, once they start playing dominoes. But I can see how all that bellerin' might come in handy if one were lost in the woods.
Orange gradients! Black silhouetted trees! Blobs of hot color! Purples that are plum or royal or twilight! Watery blue sky, fresh green grass. And a little family of - what are we here? raccoons? something raccoon-like anyway, with big googly eyes and weird bendy noses.
Unlike raccoons, however, this is a LOUD family. Like the Worms in Tony Johnson's The Family Worm. But the middle kid, Sam, finds his family to be TOO loud, so he takes off for the woods, enjoys the peace and quiet, composes a little poem, and gets lost. At which point he discovers that the family loudness can sometimes come in handy.
My husband has nine brothers and sisters. And I'll go ahead and say that sometimes, when two or more of them are together, it gets a little... volumetric. And also confess that, if one were not born into such a cacophony, one might head for the hills after the dishes have been cleared and the bourbon comes out. Or, oh Jesus, once they start playing dominoes. But I can see how all that bellerin' might come in handy if one were lost in the woods.
February 19, 2021
Some sort of critter finds hanging at home with his noisy family to be too stressful, so he heads for the solitude of the deep, dark forest . . . only to find it too quiet for his liking.
Meh.
This theme has been done before - Poinsettia and Her Family, to name just one.
I wasn't a fan of Ed Vere's artwork:
And, though kids may enjoy the "sound effects," I found them, well . . . too noisy for my liking.
Meh.
This theme has been done before - Poinsettia and Her Family, to name just one.
I wasn't a fan of Ed Vere's artwork:
And, though kids may enjoy the "sound effects," I found them, well . . . too noisy for my liking.
August 22, 2017
Miss 3 and I like to explore different books at the library and try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
This is one of the ones that I chose. I thought the text was a little bit naff and adapted it to keep with the general story and use more of my own language. What I liked was the visualisation of the aural soundscape. It was a useful picture book to read with someone that has sensory processing disorder and Miss 3 totally understood the idea of the overwhelming noise and wanting to get somewhere quieter.
This is one of the ones that I chose. I thought the text was a little bit naff and adapted it to keep with the general story and use more of my own language. What I liked was the visualisation of the aural soundscape. It was a useful picture book to read with someone that has sensory processing disorder and Miss 3 totally understood the idea of the overwhelming noise and wanting to get somewhere quieter.
February 3, 2020
Sam's family is always too loud and he doesn't like it. So, he decides to wanders into the woods to get away from all the noise. He enjoys being in the woods but as he wanders deeper into it, something touches his leg and it gets dark. Eventually he gets lost in it. He becomes scared until he hears the noise of his family so he follows it. His family finds him and he is so relieved and glad to be with them again.
Sam is annoyed that his family is always so noisy so he goes into the woods. However it gets darker as he goes deeper into the woods so he becomes frightened. He was thrilled and happy once he was reunited with his family again. The font is easy to read because it's clear. When there is a word that's a sound, it has a different font then the regular words, it's either bolded, bigger sized or curvy. The illustrations were pretty simple and consisted of Sam, his family and the woods. I liked how the illustrator used different colored bubble shapes to signify noise, I thought that was fun and creative. The text structure showed problem and solution two times in the book. First one was the problem with all the noise and the solution was going into the woods. The second was the problem when he got lost in the woods and the solution was listening and following his families noise until he found them.
I could use this book in my classroom to demonstrate to children it's not good to wander off all by yourself without telling anyone. Sam learns in the book that noisy can be a good thing, especially when you're lost so I can emphasize on this part of the book. I can also use it to teach them the importance of family and being proud of where you come from because it's who you are.
Sam is annoyed that his family is always so noisy so he goes into the woods. However it gets darker as he goes deeper into the woods so he becomes frightened. He was thrilled and happy once he was reunited with his family again. The font is easy to read because it's clear. When there is a word that's a sound, it has a different font then the regular words, it's either bolded, bigger sized or curvy. The illustrations were pretty simple and consisted of Sam, his family and the woods. I liked how the illustrator used different colored bubble shapes to signify noise, I thought that was fun and creative. The text structure showed problem and solution two times in the book. First one was the problem with all the noise and the solution was going into the woods. The second was the problem when he got lost in the woods and the solution was listening and following his families noise until he found them.
I could use this book in my classroom to demonstrate to children it's not good to wander off all by yourself without telling anyone. Sam learns in the book that noisy can be a good thing, especially when you're lost so I can emphasize on this part of the book. I can also use it to teach them the importance of family and being proud of where you come from because it's who you are.
July 23, 2017
This was a hit with my storytime crowd. We passed out shaker eggs before the book and practiced making noise with them so we could help with the book. Everybody got to shake their shaker eggs very loudly, and also placed it very quietly in their laps.
As we read, I encouraged a little bit of shaker noise during the noisy family parts, and then we were very quiet while Sam was getting lost in the woods. There was, of course, a little bit of extra noise here and there, but that's how storytime goes. Sam yells "Help!" and then we shook our eggs just a little bit at first, and then faster and noisier, until his family arrives in a grand hurricane of noise!
Followed with a fun movement song that incorporates shakers so that we could get all our shakes out. I usually introduce shakers near the end of storytime in the last book/activity so that they don't interfere with the bulk of the program.
As we read, I encouraged a little bit of shaker noise during the noisy family parts, and then we were very quiet while Sam was getting lost in the woods. There was, of course, a little bit of extra noise here and there, but that's how storytime goes. Sam yells "Help!" and then we shook our eggs just a little bit at first, and then faster and noisier, until his family arrives in a grand hurricane of noise!
Followed with a fun movement song that incorporates shakers so that we could get all our shakes out. I usually introduce shakers near the end of storytime in the last book/activity so that they don't interfere with the bulk of the program.
October 10, 2012
I liked the author’s, Malachy Doyle’s, simple story. A story where we follow Sam, a wee introverted Bungle, who seeks some quiet, solitude, and time to think or reflect on life. Not to mention, Sam just wants to get away from his overly-extroverted, noisy family. Personally, I couldn’t agree with him more. In the end, his family came to accept that Sam needed time to escape from the noise and Sam came to accept that he enjoyed a little noise with his family once in a while too. Besides, the storyline, I thoroughly loved the boldly-coloured, silhouetted illustrations that enabled the reader to journey along with Sam in a forward momentum from his house, into the dark forest, and back again. The coloured word bubbles were a unique addition, as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2012
The Bungles are LOUD. Each has their own sounds and noises and it drives Sam crazy. Sam is the quiet one in a loud family. To get away from all the noise he takes a walk; it is quiet and beautiful so he keeps walking. Then it gets dark and scary and Sam is lost. How will he find his way home? Suddenly he hears a noise; it is his loud family come to find him. Sam decides even though they are loud he loves his family and wants to be with them.
This book has a great message about fitting in with your family even if you are different. The illustrations are fun and interesting. This will be a great read aloud.
This book has a great message about fitting in with your family even if you are different. The illustrations are fun and interesting. This will be a great read aloud.
October 22, 2012
For any child who longs for a little peace and quiet in a large and noisy family, this is the book for you! It's important to get away, find a little quiet place and think your own thoughts without a lot of intrusion from well-meaning family. Just don't stray too far, or you'll be glad your family is so noisy that you can find your way home again. The illustrations are great, with silhouettes of trees and animals on a bright and colorful background. The noises being different colored bubbles are a nice touch, as well. The text has lots of internal rhyme and a subtle bounce to it, which also makes it a pleasure to read aloud.
November 7, 2012
I would love to read this one aloud, after practicing it a couple of times. I would go so far as to say that the language is poetic, with lots of rhythm and some (not a lot) subtle rhymes. (I'm sure there's a word for that technique, where it seems like it rhymes in many places but it doesn't really? Help me out here.) This would fit many storytime themes: fears, family, "noisy-time" (one of my fave themes).... This is just the thing for little introverts out there who might sometimes get tired of their more boisterous family members.
June 30, 2015
This is a great read loud book. There's a rhythm to the lines, but it's never sing-song. It's subtle. The vocabulary is wonderfully onomatopoetic so the words just feel good in your mouth. And then there are the tiny details in the illustrations, like the rabbits playing hide-and-seek (completely unrelated to the story) or the critters in their burrows below the action.
I started out reading this to a 2 year old, and the 4 & 7 year olds nearby stopped what they were doing to come listen. When we finished they asked me to start again from the beginning.
I started out reading this to a 2 year old, and the 4 & 7 year olds nearby stopped what they were doing to come listen. When we finished they asked me to start again from the beginning.
June 27, 2016
What you do with a noisy family if you need quiet to think and work things out. Then when you get lost in the woods, it's nice to have them come and find you. Interesting story about the Bungle family and relates to classroom noise and how to achieve a noise level that works for the whole class. I would recommend to elementary teachers K-3.
March 22, 2017
It's extraordinarily rare to find a children's book written lyrically that doesn't come out like a singsong poem especially when your average mom is reading it. Add a story about the power of quiet and family and balance, together with beautifully vibrant illustrations, and this one is truly a winner with my family.
April 23, 2013
Beautiful illustrations!
June 10, 2013
Pretty fun story, love how colorful. A quiet kid learns one benefit of his loud family.
February 17, 2014
A wonderful pairing of text and illustrations! I loved this one, particularly the way sound is portrayed through words and pictures. Brilliant.
June 1, 2025
Incredible poetry with alliteration and onomatopeia that scans beautifully. You can't help but read the rhythm right. A perfect story for introverts and autistic folks. The one introvert in a noisy family needs to get away to be quiet so he heads to the woods. Brilliant story, told perfectly.
I wish I liked the illustrations more. They're just not my style at all. I think they are a family of raccoons, but it's hard to tell. They walk upright like people. The pictures don't match the text, in my opinion. But the five-year-olds probably don't care. They will love the story with all the repeated loud sounds.
I wish I liked the illustrations more. They're just not my style at all. I think they are a family of raccoons, but it's hard to tell. They walk upright like people. The pictures don't match the text, in my opinion. But the five-year-olds probably don't care. They will love the story with all the repeated loud sounds.
November 5, 2018
A lovely read-aloud book to Lower KS1 children, with beautiful illustrations and text type. However, I personally found the mixture of some rhyming lines difficult to make the reading aloud flow fluently.
July 23, 2017
This was a nice book, but it really was just average...average story, average illustrations. The story had a familiar theme so it's like many other children's books that are much better.
April 4, 2019
Not sure what the message was.
July 23, 2019
This is for all the kids who just want some piece and quiet.
October 16, 2020
Lots of adjectives and descriptive language. Could be great to use in Y1 when think about expanded noun phrases.
June 22, 2024
Sam just has to get away from his too noisy family! But when he goes into the woods, he gets spooked. I really enjoyed the color scheme of this book, and the illustrations were cute. Fun story, too.
January 19, 2013
I love the illustrations and the noises but the story is just so-so. I wish the ending didn't have to be a spelled out lesson. Why can't it be OK that Sam prefers quiet? Why can't his family be more considerate about it? The book makes it seem like Sam is wrong for trying to find some peace.
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December 1, 2015From Angela:
Everyone is Sam’s family is just too loud for him. With all the booming, twooting, banging, clanging his family does, Sam decides to set out to find some peace and quiet and in the end finds there is no better place than home
Everyone is Sam’s family is just too loud for him. With all the booming, twooting, banging, clanging his family does, Sam decides to set out to find some peace and quiet and in the end finds there is no better place than home
October 10, 2012
I just don't know about this one. Just ok.
November 8, 2012
Like the illustrations/color scheme
February 10, 2013
Cute story; illustrations are very cartooney; difficult to tell whether the characters are supposed to be raccoons or something else. Illustrations done in pencil, then colored in digitally.
December 19, 2016
Read at Pre-K class visit on 3/21/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
April 22, 2013
love the illustrations but the story can leave you tongue-tied because the rhythm isn't very good.
*also would work for the butler, trees, colors, sky, nature
*also would work for the butler, trees, colors, sky, nature
March 12, 2021
Sam's family is too noisy so, he takes off into the woods and gets lost. His family come finds him and he doesn't mind that they're noisy anymore.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews