Quiet! by Kate Alizadeh (2017)

Image source: Amazon.com

Quiet! by Kate Alizadeh (2017)

 by Anna HK

A young child narrates her evening through sounds. From Dad preparing dinner, to playtime, to bath time, she notices all the small sounds in her environment until bedtime. The story is quiet, domestic and portrays a father as a gentle loving caretaker. This book is full of background text showing the onomatopoeia of everyday life, and there's enough plot to make it work as a read-aloud. Simple, sweet, and perfect for storytime.

Themes/Topics: sounds, senses, dads, bedtime

Sample text from two spreads:
"Sssh! Listen, what's that noise? 

It's the TV babbling, as I zoom zoom the car across teh rug and the cat purrs. 

And the dog snoring and the laptop whirring and the pitter patter of the rain against the window"

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwal

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall (2017)

Ooh, I love this one and can't wait to use it in storytime. Jabari has graduated from swimming lessons, and is ready to conquer a jump off the diving board...probably. At the beginning of the day, he oozes confidence, but as he approaches the diving board, his confidence wavers and he employs some stalling techniques to hide his fear. But with patient support from his loving dad...Jabari jumps. Not too wordy for storytime, with large clear illustrations and a simply told but relatable narrative, this is storytime perfection. 

Themes/topics: bravery, swimming fathers, dads, being scared, jumping

Sample text from the wordiest spread:
Jabari watched the other kids climb the long ladder. They walked all the way out to the end of the board, as bit as tiny bugs. Then they stood on the edge. They spread their amrs and bent their knees and sprang up! up! up! And then they dove down, down down. 

Splash!

"Looks easy," Jabari said. But when his dad squeezed his hand, Jabari squeezed back.