Mommies Say Shhh!

by Patricia Polacco

Goats say “maa-maa-maa.” Birds say “cheep-cheep-cheep.” Horses say “neigh-neigh-neigh.” Rabbits say nothing at all! But when all of these animals get together and raise a honking, braying, neighing ruckus, what does Mama say? “Shhhhhh!” Now available in this adorable board book, Patricia Polacco’s fun-filled collection of animal sounds and beautiful rural landscapes is a perfect readaloud for beginning readers. They’ll want more-more-more.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Cultural

34 pages, Board Book

First published February 17, 2005

About the author

Patricia Polacco is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator with around seventy beloved and award-winning books to her credit, including The Keeping Quilt, Pink and Say, The Blessing Cup, Chicken Sunday, and Thank You, Mr. Falker. She resides in Michigan.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice board book looking at the noises animals make. I'm sure this will be enjoyable for young children although I think Patricia Polacco is better at her books for older children, especially those moving real life stories.

Read on open library.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad to see that there’s a board book version of this book, because it’s one of a relatively few books by this author/illustrator appropriate for very young children.

It basically covers the sounds many animals make (she has a sort of weird sound for dogs; the rest are rather standard) but it’s a bit better than some. The illustrations are fun and there’s some humor in the simple story.

It’s also probably the best Polacco book to introduce young children to her work.

For up to five years old (and some adults who like children’s picture books) because, unlike most of Polacco’s books, this is unlikely to appeal to older children.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of a very few Patricia Polacco picture-books intended for younger children - others include Oh, Look! and G Is for Goat - this charming onomatopoetic exploration of animal sounds, from the "cheep, cheep, cheeping" of birds, to the "moo, moo, mooing" of cows (bunnies say nothing at all, naturally), ends with the not altogether unexpected declaration that "Mommies say shhh, shhh, shhh!"

Of course, one hopes that isn't all they say, but as a conclusion to Polacco's simple, repetitive text, it works well enough, making for a pleasing read-aloud climax. There really isn't much to Mommies Say Shhh!, textually speaking, but the accompanying artwork is charming, full of humorous details - I liked the little girls knitting away, with their yarn coming directly from the sheep, or their prancing around on hobbyhorses, while a real horse grazes just beyond - and adds just the right feeling of adventure and fun to the simple words.

[Crystal Marcos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have recently been introduced to Patricia Polacco's. My last trip to the library I scanned the Polacco section and was delighted to see she had a book for younger children. My daughter is 20 months old and it was an easy choice to take home. This is a simple story about animals and the sounds they make. Polacco loves goats, so naturally they were included. My daughter enjoyed the read out loud, as will most toddlers. When I was done reading to her, she even looked through it again. My only issue with this book is the sound used for a dog. I never heard "buff" referenced as a dog sound before. When reading it, I changed the words.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of pastures, animals and Russian little girls.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The simple text belies all the rambunctiousness going on in the illustrations.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me realize, instead of "What Does the Fox Say?", the song should have been called "What Does the Rabbit Say?"

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.Summary
This is a cute board book about a family who lives on a farm with lots of animals. Through out the whole story you see many colorful pictures of farm animals and talk about the sounds they make. In the end of the story it says mommy says shh so the baby can sleep, the only farm animal allowed around the baby are the bunnies because according to this story bunnies don't make noises.
2.Connection
This is a board book meant for infants to explore with their mouths and hands. It also has very colorful pictures with many details to look at and get lost in. The repetition of this book is so cute and flows so nicely that children will be able to pick up what is next very easily and help you read the book.
3. Reaction
I love this story and so did my children growing up, it was a story we could read together and be silly while doing it. The illustrations are amazing with the perfect amount of colors and details. The only part that gets me is the noises that the animals make are not very traditional and could confuses a kid who has thought something different.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it when there is a slight variation on the good ol' farm animal picture book. This one had the noises lost of different animals make, but what I liked the best was the regain of "bunnies say nothing at all." I also loved the ruckus at the end with all the animal sounds together leading up to the title. A cute old fashion almost Holly Hobby style illustration too was a nice change.

This was read at story time. For me, the best part was when Natalie, who was wandering around the room, goes "Moo!" really loud when it got to the cow! That's the first time she made the moo noise in the right context.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at Baby.Toddler Story Time on 11/15/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Baby Time on 4/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Baby/Toddler Lap Time on 4/6/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Pajama Story Time on 6/27/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Toddler Lap Time on 11/8/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Baby Lap Time on 11/8/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had some success with this in laptime. The repeated sounds usually gets participation and the babies attention. 5/4/11

I'm rounding this up to 4, it worked really well with the toddlers tonight. 5/8/12

Used in lap time this year and had a lot of participation with the animal sounds. 5/8/13

Used again in lap Time and had not only participation with the animal sounds, but also the refrain about the bunnies. 5/6/14

Used in lap time and went over well again. 5/5/15

Went over well with a shy toddler in PJ. Was a huge hit in Lap Time too.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yippee, a Patricia Polacco board book! My favorite (though 'wordy') picture book writer has a book for little ones! This 17-page board book,shows one family on their farm with all sorts of animals and is primarily written to show the sounds they make. (I've never seen dogs who say, "buff, buff, buff," but if you don't like that you can use your own woofs or arfs.) There are a lot of fun things happening on each two-page spread, and you can even hunt for the different family members as you proceed from page to page. Fun!

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book about the animals and the sounds on a farm, one of the better ones in that genre.

Mostly because bunnies, as the refrain says, say nothing at all :)

This book starts with only a few animals making their signature sounds, but as it gets longer and the scenes get wilder we end in all the animals making noise in a rush... until Mom, with her little baby, has to step in with shhhh. (And bunnies say nothing at all.)

Sweet book, and a fast read.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a basic animal sounds book. My son (12 months) is really beginning to enjoy these types of books. He is especially fond of the goat noise--"Maa Maa"--and most books don't feature goats, so it was nice to find this one to make him laugh. It even has cute pictures of goats. The illustrations overall are pretty neat, I like that everyone looks like old-fashioned peasants. The chaos increases on every page, and it's fun to watch it unfold.

[Jeannie Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story that teaches children the different sounds that animals amke or don't make and yet it also teaches that if mommy says shhh, there's a reason for it. In this story she says shhh to quiet the baby or maybe we need to be quiet around the animals. What i see as being important here is that children learn not only about animals but mommies have a sound that they should pay attention to.

Learning extension; Great way to engage in dramatic play.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

How wonderful to see a book by Polacco that is for the younger child. While most of her books are picture book format the story lines and themes are for an older child. The illustrations are typical of her work-bright wonderful folk art style. I will be looking for more of her titles aimed at the preschool child.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually "review" board books, but this is such a charming book. The illustrations are perfect- knitting needles and bonnets, and the story itself (if you can call it a story) is sweet. My 2.5 year old is in love with it, even though I'd have expected him to find it boring. Highly recommended, would make a great baby gift.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my youngest daughter and she instantly fell in love with the pictures and the repetative prose. At two years of age, she wants to be just like her older sister - reading alone on her bed during quiet time - this book is perfect! She has memorized the book and loves reading it to herself.

[Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not know that was the noise dogs made, but this book is perfect for babytime! One of our kiddos just learned how to make animal noises, so we wanted to do a storytime where they all got to practice making and recognizing animal sounds. This book got a lot of participation, and it was beyond adorable watching them make the sounds along with the story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal sounds for the very young with wonderful, detailed pictures that are a story in themselves.

A lovely baby gift (in board version) that will be read, re-read, repeated and the anticipation of "Bunnies say nothing at all" will delight everyone, not just the very young.

[Adriana Fernández-Guillén · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for young children when you are teaching them animal sounds. It has good visuals and it helps children see how animals make different sounds. In the end it is how mom says shh! I thought at first this book was going to be different for the title and the book cover.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I love Patricia Polacco! I love that this one is toddler friendly. Polacco's illustration are always warm and comforting to me. Great introduction for the littles to an author they will grow up with through her harder picture books later.

[Bisma Kureshy · Rating 2 out of 5]

PB-13
I rated this book a 2 because it was sort of boring to read. I think it might be more fun for kids in preschool to be read to and not kids in 2nd or 3rd grade because they just might get bored and not enjoy how everything page after page was the same.

[Kelly Triplett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be an excellent book for a lap-time read. It might even be a good choice for early kindergarteners. In my opinion, this is not a must have in elementary classrooms...though a fine story for the right audience.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's not bad, with a lot of opportunities to make animal noises throughout. Karina (2.5 months) likes the noises, but she doesn't get as much into these illustrations yet. So far I think Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You keeps her attention better because of the Dr. Seuss rhythms.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple picture book that reinforces animal sounds through repetition and inference. Illustrations are uniquely Polacco. Mommies Say Shhh! is a great book for animal, sounds, and family storytimes.

[Natalie Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read this book to kids and have them say the animal sounds. First time I had heard of a dog saying buff and introduced me to the idea that animals say different things depending on where you are in the world.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple book for babies with typical PP artwork showing adults and children in native Russian dress. Goes through the various animals' sounds: Birds say Cheep, Cheep. Ducks say Quack, Quack. Too young for a grade school library, but a good baby gift for families that are PP fans.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read-along

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun pictures and animal sounds.