Review by Booklist Review
Sounds rise to a crescendo and then descend into quiet in this rollicking roller coaster of a book. Like "The House That Jack Built," this is a cumulative tale, but the lines that repeat on each page are about noises, not objects. The setting is a three-story red-brick building. It's night, rendered in thick, Van Gogh--like blue-black swoops. A baby wakes up with a "WaaaAAH!" The cry causes a parrot to let out a "RraaK! Wake up!" Three boys having a sleepover, now wide awake, pitter-patter and stomp around. A girl releases her rocket out the window ("Pssheew!"). A cat asleep in a window box leaps onto a police car, setting off its screaming siren. Caldecott Honor Book author-illustrator Mora uses her trademark collage illustrations to spectacular effect, with rising and falling lettering mimicking sounds, along with lots of yellow bands of light and moving characters that heighten interest. The peak of the cacophony is reached with all the noises shown and all the lights on in the house, until the adults start quieting the baby, the boys, the rocket girl--and the sounds subside to small ones, ending with the baby listening to the pah-poom pah-poom pah-poom of the mother's heart. A sound-evocative tour de force.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lush collages in jewel tones by Caldecott Honoree Mora illuminate the story of a restless night in a city apartment building whose inhabitants represent many ethnicities, skin tones, and family structures. Everyone's asleep when Baby Izzie wakes up and cries--the child's "WaaaAAH!" is shown in a big speech balloon, and a magenta splash testifies to its volume. It wakes Rayhan, a neighbor who checks on his parrot. The bird's "RraaK! WAKE UP!" rouses three kids in sleeping bags, whose game of flashlight tag disturbs another neighbor--and so it goes, the mishaps and their soundtrack piling up like "The House that Jack Built." When the climactic racket is finally stilled, Mora shows the apartment dwellers settling down again, now lulled by the build of softer noises: the "shhhh shhhh" of the street sweeper, the "plonk plonk" of falling acorns, and more. Simple shapes and comforting interior scenes signal security, while brilliant colors--the red brick building's fuchsia doorway, the dimensional dark blue of the night sky--convey warmth. In this lulling story by debut author Wynter, readers watch a group of people confront the same common communal experience--and overcome it. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
On a clear, starry night, everybody in a red brick apartment building is sound asleep. That is, until Baby Izzie sits up in her crib and starts to cry, "WaaaAAH!!" This sets off a chain reaction in which other residents are roused from their slumber and create noises of their own. Young Rayhan gets out of bed to check on his parrot, who calls out, "RraaK! Wake UP!" In another apartment, three boys awaken and initiate a game of flashlight tag, including the requisite "Pitter, Patter, STOMP!" Before long the whole building is astir. The perspective pulls back to reveal the exterior of the building as a cat jumps down from her perch in a window and leaps onto a car, setting off an alarm, "WEEYOOOWEEEEYOOOOO!!!!" It takes a while, but bit by bit everyone settles down to the familiar "shhhhshhhhshhhh" of the street sweeper and goes back to sleep. Even Baby Izzie dozes off in her mama's arms as the charming child-centric story comes full circle. Mora's (Saturday, rev. 10/19) dynamic, richly colored collage art reinforces the warm, cozy scenes and adds depth, texture, and vitality to the pages. The subtle diversity, urban setting, and universality of theme make this an excellent addition to bedtime bookshelves everywhere. Luann Toth November/December 2021 p.90(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A crying baby sets off a chain reaction of responses from the neighbors she wakes in the red brick building. Baby Izzie wakes up in the night with a "WaaaAAH!" Her wail wakes not only those in her apartment, but also neighbor Rayhan, who inadvertently wakes his parrot, who announces: "RraaK! WAKE UP!" The parrot's squawks and baby's cries wake more and more neighbors, who rouse others in the building until everyone is awake and contributing to the late-night hullabaloo. Finally, Pepper the cat manages to set off a car alarm that yells "WEE YOOO WEEEE YOOOOO!!!!" into the night. Eventually, all the neighbors--a testament to urban diversity--settle down from the excitement and return to bed. Each is lulled by soft, gentle sounds that begin with the "shhh shhh" of a street sweeper, the "plonk plonk" of falling acorns, and the "ting ting" of a wind chime. The onomatopoeia in this cumulative tale is appropriate for the actions described and is so much fun to read. Mora's beautiful, vivid geometric illustrations incorporate the onomatopoeia in the first half of the story. They sprawl across spreads and invite loud reading but are absent by the time the story begins to make its turn back to the starting point. That "shhh shhh" sound from the street sweeper brings calm and quiet to the activity in the red brick building--and, as if by magic, readers as well. Sotto voce: very well done! (This book was reviewed digitally.) Certain to become a favorite bedtime book. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
