The Quiet Book

The Quiet Book is a triumph, in art and text. My kids (like most kids) have a heckuva time settling down to sleep, so we read them a book (or three) to close out the day and get them ready to sleep. Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book has become a tradition in our household, for those nights when Curious George isn't getting them in a restful mood. I love the very quiet mood of the book... the illustrations are gentle, muted colors, but with little details that keep kids engaged, searching the illustrations for their favorite parts. When we read this book, I have enacted a 'whispers-only' rule, so the kids think it's exciting, like we're sharing a secret. Liwska's animal characters vividly (but quietly) show a lot of emotion, and I think that's what my kids respond to ("look, the porcupine is saaaaad..."). Then there's the text. The illustrations are great, but I think you need to give a lot of credit to Underwood's text in this case... she takes the concept of rhyming and a concrete plotline, and throws it right out the window. It's NOT true that text has to rhyme to engage a child, and it's NOT true that kids can't deal in abstractions. Kudos to Deborah Underwood for giving our kids credit for being smarter than a lot authors give them credit for. That said, the book does have a plotline... But like the book, it's quiet and muted. The ultimate test of any kids book, of course, is if KIDS actually like it. My kids love it so much that they bring it to me to be read, even when it's not bedtime. They also asked me to bring it to their school when we had a 'parents read' day. So I give The Quiet Book five stars, each of which is well-earned, in my opinion.

This is a marvelous children's book. I have always loved children's literature, so have read a lot of it, from many ages. Rarely have I come across one done in such a thoughtful manner as this one. When I finished it the first time, I really stopped to ponder what else in my world am I missing out on, just because I haven't taken the time to stop and think about one idea in different contexts. I enjoyed The Quiet Book so much that I actually bought it and had it sent to my niece's daughter. Their whole family has enjoyed it very much. It is a delightful book to read anytime, but with it's sweet pictorial style and few words, it will make a great book to alternate with Goodnight, Moon as a bedtime book. It won't be long before your favorite children will be reading it to you!!

I admit it: When my daughter chooses this book as her bedtime story, I'm pretty happy. It's quiet (of course) and full of great detail that adults can appreciate. In fact, I think much of the charm of this story is the way the adult who is reading the book can relate to the text. We know the peace that can be found in swimming underwater or riding in the car at night or seeing a quiet snowfall; our toddlers probably have no frame of reference for those things or, at most, experience them much differently than we do. But that's OK. This book will calm both parents and children at bedtime. The illustrations are just plain beautiful.

The absence of sound, which is technically one-dimensional, is revealed to have many different meanings and emotional atmospheres, depending on what situation inspired the silence. The range of emotions covers anticipation, enthrallment, respect, fear, remorse, and everything in between. Kids will relate to the situations either because they're magical, like a concert given by animals, or because they're real, like a young moose getting in trouble for drawing on the wall. The author's insight is beautifully illustrated and brought to life by a cast of imaginative animal-children. The soft textures and colors evoke a quietness in perfect harmony with the concept, without ever being overly-sweet or one-dimensional. This is one of those books that sets a standard for emotional depth, kid-friendliness, and pure aesthetic perfection.

Such a sweet book. Some of the references go over my 3yo’s head but I can tell that we will be reading this for years to come, and he will only grow to understand it more deeply, which warms my heart. A wonderful bedtime book!

I bought this book along with The Loud Book for a 1 year old for Easter. She likes this book, but much prefers The Loud Book. I think it has to do with her personality. It is a cute book, and a good read aloud.

The Quiet Book is not a typical children's picture book. The creative and original text invites your youngster to think beyond the lines of the actual text and into a more complex and creative world. The illustrations, which are both adorable and imaginative, reveal depth and create a storyline beyond the immediate words on the page. I read The Quiet Book to my 3-year-old for the first time yesterday and she was so enthralled and asked so many questions that it turned into a wonderful 20-minute interactive learning and discussing experience for both mother and daughter.

I bought this book for my 3 year-old granddaughter based on the reviews and suggested age levels. When the dust had settled after Christmas morning, I leafed through the book and was astounded to see I could use it with all my grandchildren ages 7 through 16. In the afternoon, we all sat down, went through each page's scenario, and talked through the emotions that the different characters could be feeling that would cause them to be "quiet". All 6 had thoughts and shared; the 16 and 13 year-olds obviously had the most input and using all the pages became somewhat tedious for them, but, overall, the time spent doing this activity was a wonderful experience as we all explored all the possibilities. To have a young child sit with this book by themselves seems to me to completely loose one of the most effective uses of the concepts presented. Being together and exploring why someone would feel quiet when two others are whispering close by is an important teaching tool about people and how to react to it. I would recommend this book to anyone with absolutely no reservations. It was not only well reasoned in its format but a thought-provoking device to discuss when to -- or not to -- be quiet.

Saw this at a grown-up friend's house (she'd bought it for herself) and thought I'd get it for my grand-daughter as I'm a sucker for a well illustrated children's book. As she always has books read to her at bedtime I was taken with the notion of 'quiet' time, which is what reading at bed time is all about (in my book, anyway). It is stunningly illustrated, with slightly weird characters in a Telletubbies kind of way, but it's a truly lovely and thought-provoking book for any child. It's an old fashioned hard-back with a slip cover too which adds to its specialness. I'm only sorry that It's too late to get the one about Christmas which I will certainly invest in (the correct words for this kind of book) in time for the festivities next year. Wonderful.

I have this book for my boys and also bought a copy for my niece. I like the well drawn pictures which are calming along with a simple yet well written book that I find does capture the kids attention and is relatable.

Es gibt heutzutage ja eine fantastische Auswahl an mehr oder weniger tiefgründigen, anspruchsvollen und mysteriösen bis seltsamen Kinderbüchern. Dieses ist auf jeden Fall ganz oben mit dabei, was Subtilität, liebevolle Gestaltung und doch eben Niveau angeht.

Got the hardcover copy for my friend’s baby and she absolutely loves looking at all the pictures.

Gift for grandaughter. Quick delivery, well packaged soft cover compact version of book