Quiet, Please!

by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Tiny house living leads to big drama as Twig tries to clock reading hours to bring her class a victory in this third installment of the Twig and Turtle series. Perfect for fans of Ivy and Bean and Judy Moody.

The tiny house is too loud!

Twig’s participating in her school’s read-a-thon, but it’s hard to concentrate with Dad watching TV, and Turtle trying to blow gum bubbles or showing off the tiny house to curious passers-by. And when Twig’s classmate Matteo starts logging more reading time than her, she’s desperate to get back her lead, even if it means staying up way past her bedtime.

But when Mom and Dad find out what’s been going on, it’s time to make some changes to the tiny house rules. Can they find a way to make alone time in a family that’s so squished together?

Sweet and bright, Quiet Please!, the third book in the Twig and Turtle chapter book series will be loudly cheered by fans of Ivy and Bean and Judy Moody.

112 pages, Hardcover

Published February 16, 2021

About the author

Jennifer has spent three decades writing award-winning fiction and nonfiction for children. Amongst her titles are picture books: THIS IS MY ROOM (NO TIGERS ALLOWED) and OH, CHICKADEE!; chapter books: Andy Shane series and Twig and Turtle series; middle grade novels: SMALL AS AN ELEPHANT, PAPER THINGS, THE DOLLAR KIDS, CRASHING IN LOVE; and young adult novels: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF WHY I HATE HER and STAINED. Her awards and honors include ALA Best Books For Young Adults, Publishers Weekly Best Books, NYPL Best Books for Teens, Parents Choice Gold Award, IRA Young Adult’s Choice, ILA Social Justice Award, NTCE Charlotte Huck Honorable Mention, Bank Street Best Books of the Year, and Junior Library Guild Selections as well as many state awards. She lives in mid-coast Maine with her husband.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third-grader Twig and her little sister Turtle are adjusting to their family's move to a tiny house. While the place is cozy and their parents have come up with ingenious ways to store items and navigate the space as efficiently as possible, it's still very close quarters for four individuals. Twig, in particular, is bothered by her sister's noises and the lack of privacy. She desperately needs quiet so that she can keep her lead in the class in the school read-a-thon. But her classmate Matteo seems to be reading more than Twig is, which prompts her to try to stay up late in order to rack up reading hours. When she's tired the next day, changes are in store at home, and Twig's parents decide that the family needs to enforce some quiet hours. In this, the third book in a series for early readers, Twig realizes that everyone needs some time alone and that it isn't always necessary to be the top reader to set an example for others. While I enjoyed this book and the character of Twig, I was a bit concerned over how Mr. Harbor slightly circumvented the reading rules at the request of his students. While competitions like this one can be good and can encourage students to read, often they read only during the contest and cease after it ends. Logging minutes read may be helpful to some youngsters but not for all. Teachers who share this one as a read aloud or recommend it to their students should be mindful of these issues.

[Phobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a quality to author Jacobson’s work that I find it hard to put a finger on. The themes are so real, honest, subtle. There’s humor but also true emotion, Twig’s, Turtles’s, and their parents’ motivations are clear and relatable, and everyone’s flaws are on display in the most gentle, humane way. This author is undersung.

[Jane Kurtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all chapter books feature characters who have much emotional depth. I love the tiny house and the way the sisters' emotions ring true to their experiences there. And in Covid times, who doesn't understand the push and pull for isolation vs. new experiences?

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute! Poor Twig falling asleep like that. I bet the teacher was sweating bullets, not knowing your student was missing all afternoon! Mom and Dad, too, not noticing your kids exhausted and wearing pajama bottoms to school.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Twig and Turtle series for the gentle way in which it teaches young readers socio-emotional skills. In Quiet, Please! Twig has to learn to shut out distractions and focus on whatever task it is she is trying to do, whether it is ignoring the calls of spectators or her own inner voice when playing a soccer match, or ignoring household noises when trying to read at home.

The series teaches kids how to read social cues. Here, Twig loses focus during a soccer match and is swapped out as the goalkeeper after she lets in two goals. Her coach tells her she has done well:
"Here's how you know that someone is just saying something to make you feel better:
- They don't look you in the eye or pat you on the shoulder
- They don't say something specific like: You had great focus!
- They say the very same thing to the other kids who were on the field too"