The Christmas Quiet Book

September 10, 2012
The team that celebrated various kinds of quiet in The Quiet Book revisits that theme with a holiday twist. Underwood again exhibits a flair for selecting evocative scenarios and moods: “Hoping for a snow day quiet” and “knocking with mittens quiet” immediately set a wintry backdrop, while “blown fuse quiet” and “shattered ornament quiet” speak to the more frustrating moments of holiday prep. Watching the furry animals in Liwska’s subtly hued pencil drawings participate in a Christmas pageant, make gingerbread houses, and listen for sleigh bells adds to a sense of gentle anticipation. Reverence for the quieter aspects of the season is indeed a gift. Ages 4–8. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

September 1, 2012
In their third collaboration on the numerous nuances of volume, Underwood and Liwska focus on the softer sounds of the Christmas season. Using the same format as the beloved Quiet Book (2010), each page presents just one quiet moment from the run-up to the holiday. Groups of animal characters engage in familiar activities such as trimming the tree, making gingerbread houses and participating in a Christmas pageant. The simple text describes each type of quiet in only a few words: "Snow angel quiet"; "Reading by the fire quiet"; "Listening for sleigh bells quiet." Atmospheric pencil illustrations with softly shaded colored highlights use backgrounds of white or gray that evoke a wintry feeling, with pleasing variation between indoor and outdoor scenes. One memorable illustration shows several bears and rabbits making their way home through a snowy, candlelit woods: "Luminaria quiet." The final page is a bit of a let-down, with an illustration of two bunny children turning toward their stack of presents, with the text "Christmas morning quiet." The unemotional conclusion feels flat and doesn't provide a real ending (nor does it seem that this would be a particularly quiet moment). Nevertheless, a congenial, understated choice for reading aloud to excited children to help them settle down for a long winter's night. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-Fans of The Quiet Book (2010) and The Loud Book (2011, both Houghton Harcourt) will be enchanted by this holiday companion. The anticipation a child feels is brought to life as the familiar animals from the previous books (bears, rabbits, porcupines, moles, owls) search quietly for presents, make snow angels, drink cocoa, turn on the lights of a Christmas tree, make a gingerbread house, and write a note to Santa. Liwska's digitally colored pencil illustrations, in a muted palette of soft and soothing earth tones, pair poetically with the simple text. This is an ideal title for use during a winter holiday storytime or for one-on-one cuddling at bedtime.-Diane Olivo-Posner, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.