Night Noises: A Tender Story About a Loyal Dog and a Surprise for Kids (Ages 4-7)

by Mem Fox, Terry Denton (Illustrator)

As elderly Lily Laceby dozes by the fire, her dog, Butch Aggie, becomes alarmed by strange noises outside. Finally awakened by Butch Aggie’s growls and barks, Lily finds a lovely surprise waiting for her. “The language, pacing, tension, and sparks of excitement are absolutely at one with the artwork.”-- The Horn Book

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Animals, Dogs

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Merrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lillie is the main character in this book. She is asleep and dreaming, and honestly, I thought she was dead.

She gets a knock on the door and it turns out it's a surprise birthday party. Startling an elderly lady with a cake and a houseful of people seems like a very stupid idea.

It annoys me that her entire family and "forty seven friends" (seriously, what a show-off) allow her to continue to live alone when she's 90 years old. She looks after her house and that dog, somehow. How does a 90 year old bathe a dog, walk it, feed it, care for it? Even the most in shape 90 year olds would be struggling by that stage.

The only thing Lillie Laceby has going for her is that her name is alliterated.

It's unfortunate because I enjoy Mem's other books so much.

[SaraKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. I loved the story and the illustrations. Granny dreams about her life in reverse while her dog notices something up outside. I can totally picture this scene as I've witnessed it in real life quite a few times. I think that the book might appeal more to Grannies than to kids! It would be a lovely book for a Granny to read to grandkids. I love the dog.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman reflects her long life in her dreams, surprises are in store. A nice book about living a full life and cherishing the memories while staying young at heart.

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something Siddav would say

[Noor Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Noises is about an elderly woman(Lily Laceby) and her old dog (Butch Aggie). She falls asleep on the couch while the dog continues to hear noises outside and begins to appear more protective with each noise she hears. While that is happening with each page flip you can see that Lily seems to be dreaming her life in reverse. from having her children to getting married and there was even a picture of her when she was a young child. The book makes it seem like Lily is always alone in the beginning but at the very end the reader finds out that it was her LARGE family trying to surprise her for her birthday. I did enjoy this book because of the way it was set up to make it sound like it was going to be a scary or sad book but ended unexpectedly.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mem Fox really knows how to show that older people can age and change, but we can still love them and they are still a part of our family.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The faces!!


OH GOD THE FACES!!!!





AIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Emily Scanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guided Reading Level: 2.5
Summary: “Night Noises”, depicts an old woman named Lily Laceby, as she naps on a winter’s evening. As Lily Laceby naps, she dreams of her past, and cannot hear the noises outside her house. However, her dog, Butch Aggie can hear these noises, and is increasingly aggravated. Finally, as the noise turns into loud knocking at Lily’s door, and Butch Aggie is barking, Lily wakes up to find that all of her extended family has come to celebrate her birthday.

Characteristics That Support the Genre: The pictures in “Night Noises”, are incredibly important to the story. The text never tells the reader what Lily is dreaming about, so the pictures of these dreams add a special narrative. Through the illustrations, we learn about Lily Laceby’s life, beginning with the death of her husband, following the birth of her first child, to Lily as a bride, a teenager, and finally as a child herself. The depth of the lifecycle would be lost without these pictures.

Mentor Writing Traits: (1) Organization – This story follows chronological order which keeps the reader interested. (2) Word Choice - To emphasize the mysterious noises outside of Lily Laceby’s home, the sounds are written expressively. For example, the sound of people walking is written as, “Crinch, crunch”, and the sound of someone turning the doorknob is written as, “Twist, test, rattle.” (3) Conventions – In the story, the expressive language just described is written in all caps, large text, and colored red. This is different than the rest of the text, which follows correct capitalization, is small, and is black in color.

Classroom Integration: “Night Noises” is a terrific book to help students identify word choice and conventions, in a story. Rather than telling the reader what noises are heard, this story shows the noises. As a result, students will experience the benefit of expressive language. This book would be a wonderful addition to a first, second or third grade classroom library.

Other Suggestions: For further use, this book could be the focus point for a mini lesson on expressive language. Students could pick an everyday action that creates sound and then choose expressive words to describe this sound. Their creations could be written on posters and displayed around the room to serve as a reminder to use expressive language.

[Allie Knerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Noises, is set up to seem like it is a scary story with the granny asleep in her chair while there is a storm going on outside and strange noises keep coming up. I liked that while the lady was sleeping she was drawing about her life, when she was a young girl, memories of riding horses as she grew up, getting married, having children, and saying goodbye to her husband as he died. I thought this made the book a lot more relatable because her family came to surprise her for her 90th birthday which means she has had many years of living and many years of making memories with friends and family members. This book has vocabulary that a young reader could read. I liked how the words that were being said describing what was going on you could see within the pictures as well. This book had the same format throughout the majority of the book, the noise would be described and then in big letters would be the words of the noises that were being made, then a picture of the lady sleeping while the dog got more and more concerned with the nieces and then the last picture on the page would be whatever the lady was dreaming about. This format made the story flow and made it easier to read the book.

[Melanie Duvic · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the grandmother dozing off in her chair and a storm raging outside, Night Noises is intentionally set up to appear to be a frightening tale. I loved that the woman drew while she slept, recalling memories of riding horses as a young child, growing up, getting married, having kids, and saying farewell to her husband as he passed away. The fact that her family surprised her on her 90th birthday and that she has spent a lot of time living and creating memories with her friends and family, in my opinion, makes the book a lot more relatable. I enjoyed how the words used to describe what was happening could also be seen in the illustrations. The majority of this book followed the same format: first, a description of the noise would be given, followed by the words of the noises in big letters, then a picture of the lady sleeping while the dog grew more and more worried about the nieces, and finally, the final image on the page would show whatever the lady was dreaming about. The tale flowed smoothly and was easy to read thanks to this style.

[Cassandra Arrotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night noises follows an elderly lady through a stormy night. As she dreams, knocks on the door and other noises in the night wake and distract her dog. Once finally being awaken to these noises, the old lady finds herself surrounded by all of her extended family who came to visit to celebrate her birthday.

This book can be used in several content areas to teach about dreams, time, history, cultural practices, and other psychologically based assignments. Although this book is rated for K-2 classrooms, This book could also be used at the secondary level to examine family history, historical events, and other literature based short stories or YA novels based on family roots or history. I can see using this book as a companion to Edgar Allen Poe's, The Tell-Tell Heart, and even Shakespeare's, King Lear for emotional comparison or to analyze different perspectives of mental health or dreams when at an older age.

[Freddie D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set out like a horror story: with suspense built up with increadsing intensity and then a (happy) surprise at the end. It's a heartwarming story about ageing. As always, I'm a huge fan of the continued use of onomatopoeia throughout which makes reading aloud a joyous and engaging experience. Terry Denton's illustrations are instantly recognisable and lots of fun. The pictures offer a depth to the story beyond the words, so they are definitely worth exploring and discussing with young readers. As a sidenote, though, it was an interesting artistic choice to give Lillie's (seemingly deceased) husband a Hitler-style moustache! I just couldn't look past it!
And one more bugbear is that, in this edition, Lily is spelt like 'Lily' in the synopsis in the front cover and the blurb on the back, and spelt like 'Lillie' throughout the rest of the book. What's that about?

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Night Noises" by Mem Fox is another classic for both children and adults. I've just recently been introduced to Mem Fox and I appreciate my friend who shared this author's works with me.

The story is about a grandmother who lives with her constant companion, "a fat old dog called Butch Aggie." Lily, the grandmother, gets lost in her thoughts of herself as a young girl and all the good memories she has of that time in her life. Her family and friends surprise her with a birthday party. The neatest part of the entire book was the ending. This is a book on my favorites list and one I'll share with my other friends and neighbors.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concept wonderful. Last line of text perfect. Illustrations and premise totally lacking. If these 90 friends and family knew anything, they'd know not to annoy the dog. But it never actually says anywhere that the party is a surprise... Mrs. Laceby probably just fell asleep while waiting for it.
Nor does it say she doesn't have day help.

[Amanda Batarseh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book to me is on the more creepy side. its about an old lady who has a dog and they are in her house. they hear noises and they go investigate. this book is an interesting read and I think the kids would enjoy the game of knowing what the sounds are. the pictures are very interesting to look at and they are colorful as well. they draw the reader in.

[Joyce Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warm and loving story celebrating friends and family and those who live long and well. Lots of sound words, charming main character, and a little suspense, working up to what will happen in the end. A book that celebrates the truth about age.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not one of my favourite books at all. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I can see the ratings others have given for this book.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike any picture book I've read. This was beautiful.

[Hannah Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reader really has to pay attention to the pictures in order to understand who the characters are in the story. I was surprised by the ending as a reader.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It was sweet and suspenseful. Reading it, I realized there aren't enough picture books about older people.

[Christy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute story of a little old lady and her dog. A good study on onomatopoeia.

[Nahuatl P Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tierno libro sobre una soñora que cumple 90 años, recomiendo.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Laceby soundly dreams her life in reverse, as night noises fill the air around her. Luckily, she has her fat old dog Butch Aggie to keep watch. This book is charming, tension filled and a wee bit dark, with a sweet ending.

[Callie Peet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a darling story of an elderly lady, named Lily Laceby who lives in an old cottage in the hills. Her only companion is her dog Butch Aggie. Lily leads a very reserved, quiet, and seemingly lonely life in her little cottage in the hills. As Lily sleeps in her cozy chair by the fire, Butch Aggie begins to hear some commotion outside. After a while, Lily finally wakes up to banging on the door and Butch Aggie barking and growling. At this point the reader doesn’t know what might be waiting outside. Lily opens the door to find a lovely surprise waiting for her. Being realistic fiction, readers are able to relate to the story in several different ways. The illustrations are also extremely whimsical and the characters are very expressive. I loved the illustrations paired with the adorable story and was able to connect to it because Lily Laceby is a spitting image of my grandmother. Being able to personally relate so closely to a book always draws a deeper connection. Overall, a great story that keeps the reader engaged and smiling throughout.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about aging really, but between the vibrant illustrations and the celebratory, loving context around the aging character it has a sort of beauty to it. I don't know if the children I read it to think very deeply around the aging, some of them when I ask what is happeing in the pictures don;t make the link to Lily Laceby's possible life they say "She is dreaming about someone getting married" for example without insight about why.

The ending excites the, though. I like a book about spooky, creepy noises (children know this experience well) which ends up like this. I also like the name "butch aggie"

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd tale about a little old lady who lives alone. She dreams of her younger years, and is awakened by noises at the door. Initially I thought this would be a bedtime story, but it's more of a tale of reminiscences and the nostalgia of our youth.

The narrative is short and the noises lead up to a dramatic, but quite predictable conclusion. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish, but I wasn't a huge fan of the style. I did enjoy seeing the dog's reaction to the noises, though. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Children's Literature Project · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Noises is about a ninety year old women named Lily Laceby and her dog Butch Aggie. One night, Lily drifted off to sleep in front of the fire. As she dreamed of her younger days, Butch Aggie hears various noises and gets more agitated. Finally, Butch Aggie could not stand it anymore and began to bark. Lily woke with a start to a very pleasant surprise

Classroom uses:
- Read aloud
- lesson on descriptive words
- writing prompt about what students dream about while they are sleeping

GLE: 3.3
DRA: Unavailable
Lexile: 430L

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my. Night Noises is quite a book. It reminds me of Old Bear in that its protagonist is old and is looking back upon her life. Or it's like the beginning of Up, backwards. There's an eerie vibe at first but this book ends with nothing but sweetness. It'll make you ache for your childhood and feel okay about growing old all at once.

(My used copy has written in it: Edwards. There is also a bookplate: Barbara.)

[Kara Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

As elderly Lily Laceby dozes by the fire, her dog, Butch Aggie, becomes alarmed by strange noises outside. Finally awakened by Butch Aggie’s growls and barks, Lily finds a lovely surprise waiting for her. “The language, pacing, tension, and sparks of excitement are absolutely at one with the artwork.

I might not use this in a classroom, however I would like to use it a a mother someday. I like this book, but I do not think it is classroom worthy.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me of my great-grandmother and how she lived to be in her nineties too. I also liked this book because through the illustrations you see some of the things that Lily had experienced in her long life.

This book would be good for a beginner reader because it's full of repetition and onomatopoeias. During a writing lesson, I would use this book to show what onomatopoeias are and how they are used.