Too Quiet For These Old Bones [Paperback]

Tres Seymour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | Age Level: 4 and up

"These old bones are tired, " cries Granny. "This house is far too quiet!" So with whoops and hollers, cap gun firing, pots banging, model rockets launching, and even "Hail to the Chief" playing on whistle and kazoo, her grandchildren happily turn up the volume in the rollicking rhymes and ever more riotous pictures of this intergenerational salute to high decibel fun. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2. In this energetic story, four siblings rescue their grandmother from boredom. The kids dread the visit when their mother warns that any noise will set Granny's nerves on edge. Braced for a dreary afternoon listening to buzzing flies and watching dust settle, the children sit. Suddenly, Granny comes to life with a scream proclaiming life to be too quiet. "I crave a bang, a boom, a blast! An avalanche! A riot!" she shouts. That's all the encouragement her grandchildren need to free this poor woman from her dull existence. They break china, bang pots, shoot off rockets, slam doors, whistle, and sing. Granny reacts, "Is that the best you can do?" She teaches them how to whoop and holler like banshees and they have a ball until Mom returns. The next day they go back and sit like statues, but after their mother drives away, the fun begins all over again. Johnson's acrylic illustrations reinforce the moods and actions perfectly. Most of the characters are styled realistically, in modern dress, but Granny is portrayed as very old-fashioned, almost a caricature of the aged. She wears a nightcap and shawl over a long black dress, high-buttoned shoes with black lisle stockings, pinch-nose glasses, and has no teeth. Not many children have grandmothers who look like this today, but Granny's appearance does fit this rhyming tale. Storytimes will be enlivened with this engaging read-aloud.?Susan Garland, Maynard Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Seymour (Black Sky River, 1996, etc.) presents a glimpse of a surprising sort of grandparent, in clumsy, awkward verse. Jane, Logan, Lucas, and the first-person narrator are doomed to spend a day with Granny, who resembles Whistler's mother. They enter in somber, brown-toned framed pictures, which Johnson lightens up considerably as the beshawled old woman bolts upright in her rocking chair and cries out that she craves a little noise. The children respond predictably, but she challenges them further by joining in. Young readers will anticipate the return of the children's mother, who appears in looming silhouette and silences the house. The next time the children stay with their grandmother, the joint starts jumping as soon as their mother starts up the car to drive away. Not original in any way, but good for one noisy read-through. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531300528
• ISBN-13: 978-0531300527
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,161,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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