Shhh

by Fred Paronuzzi

An almost wordless book filled with nothing but the many sounds of day. Page after page, each illustration is crowded with all the noises and activity happening during a little one's daily routine. Toddlers will delight in recognizing the onomatopoeia and find comfort in the moral of the story that comes at the special moment when you can switch off all the noises and enter a completely different world. That time comes whenever you open a book . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Family

33 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2021

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picturebook is nearly wordless except for the noises made by everything surrounding us and our own noises during a regular day, from getting ready in the bathroom and naptime at a school setting to a public swimming pool changing room. The book follows a young person from the time they wake up to the time they get home after a busy day. The last page is surprisingly without any sounds. It is when they are reading a story and imagine the world of the book. The illustration for this page is in stark contrast to the colorful world from previous pages; dark and line art surrounds the main character. The book has been with the child throughout the pages, but it is not until the last page the reader figures that it has been too loud everywhere to read it.
The main character comes from a diverse family. In addition, the characters surrounding them are also very diverse. Although the book talks about sounds, it would be difficult to read this for a larger group. The illustrations speak to a younger audience, and the message of how reading can transport you to a world of your own might be missed.
Written
Pre Kindergarten through 1st grade
AD+

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that while this won't be a book any family turns to every day, it will remain a success and get more than a couple of looks. The whole story of the day here is turned into wordless dioramas, with just the noises put in as a script – so hairdryers make their noise, dogs and cats give their typical sounds, the journey to school is lively with different sonic sources – oh, and someone's rear end seems to go "Toot" when they leave the swimming bath's changing rooms. In amongst this noise, the lead character gets a bit of personal shush, with a nicely-realised evocation of the fantasies they are able to read about in the quiet. This is definitely for joining a young reader with, and going over the noises on the page, and the names of the things that are making them, and so on, but yes there is the moral that reading is transformative too, for a slightly older mind.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow this family through their day in a completely unique way. This is almost a wordless book, except for the onomatopoeia throughout. Think word book for toddlers, but instead of labeling the items, the sounds are labeled. In the bathroom, Dad's razor goes "BZZZZ", the sink goes "DRIP DROP" and the toothbrush goes "SWOOSH, WHOOSH SWOOSH". Such a fun concept for little ones. I love this book for kids who are learning to talk and love making ALL the noises.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book features onomatopoeia from daily life.

Because there is no narrative, only onomatopoeia, this book doesn't make a good read aloud, but young readers will enjoy the exploration of ordinary sounds in the world around them.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book of sounds. Literally, the only words in it are sound words. I thought the last page was really cool, but to me it felt kind of disjointed from the rest of the style of the book. I guess the "blah blah blah" for people taking kind of rubs me the wrong way too.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[oohlalabooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute and fun, but I was expecting a few more words. This truly is about sounds!

[Chils27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

no words but sounds.very easy for toddler to read and learn objects