What's That Noise? - Hardcover

Carman, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375810528 ISBN 13: 9780375810527

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

Beautiful illustrations accompany a spare text about a boy who hears a noise and bravely sets out to discover its source. Although he imagines terrible monsters (rendered in detailed black-and-white spreads that rival Chris Van Allsburg’s work) the scary noise ends up being his father’s snores! An ultimately comical fantasy from an exciting new talent.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In this sophisticated but rather chilly presentation, a boy with gleaming blue eyes and closely cropped black hair is awakened one night by a strange noise, rendered visually as a thin, smokelike ribbon of letters, which flies through his bedroom like an angry hornet. "What's that noise?" the boy says. Newcomer Carman follows the narrator as he thinks about what its source might be. He looks out the window at a Maxfield Parrish-like portrait of a suburban neighborhood. After imagining the strange sound emanating from a lawn mower and from a UFO, he wonders, as he puts his hand on the doorknob, "Could there be a monster in my closet?" In the next spread, a monster with five eyes, broken teeth and a snake-sharp tongue leers out of the closet at him. The artist cushions the horrors of the boy's fantasies with soft, slightly smudged renderings in black-and-white pastel, while crisp, hard-edged paintings tinted an eerie blue depict the boy's night-time reality. "It sounds like a bear in Mom and Dad's bedroom," the boy decides. The specter of a colossal polar bear looming over his parents' bed does not deter him. He draws himself up ("I've got to warn them") and the source of the noise is finally revealed (it's Dad, snoring). The haunting illustrations and cool atmosphere may be off-putting for some readers, but the technical skill and careful pacing of this picture book joke may well fulfill readers' expectations. Ages 5-8. (July)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-"What's that noise?" asks a wide-eyed boy from his bed as a racket, represented by swirling alphabet letters, invades his bedroom in the middle of the night. He investigates various possible sources. No, it isn't coming from his neighbor engaging in a midnight lawn-mowing project; there is no UFO landing in his backyard; no monster is growling in his closet; and no octopus is entwining its slithery arms around the bathtub. Then it must be a huge bear come to attack his parents, but when he goes into their bedroom to warn them, he finds the real culprit. Young readers will soon mimic the boy's question as it grows in intensity: "WHAT'S THAT NOISE?" The spare text comes to life in the illustrations. Spreads rendered in black and white depict such fantastical scenes as a fire-breathing lawn mower; a many-eyed, salivating monster; and a huge bear, while paintings with unusual perspectives reveal the real-life objects that elicit the child's incredible imaginings. Just the right amount of suspense and a surprise ending make this story a satisfying read. Pair it with Jackie Koller's No Such Thing (Boyds Mills, 1997) for another look at things that are not what they seem to be.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0375810528
• ISBN 13: 9780375810527
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Carman William