Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

I hope you are all staying warm!

It seems like Winter, after goofing around for a decade, has decided to show off her power to make sure we haven’t forgotten what she can really do!

It is -7 at my house this morning and deep snow is still everywhere because it’s been too cold for any of it to melt!

Thank you, Winter. Your power has been duly noted. And I appreciate your importance in the grand scheme of things. But that will be quite sufficient. Go back to goofing off so we can all come out of our houses without body parts freezing off!

While we’re waiting for Winter to loosen her grip a little, grab yourself a hot cocoa and a cozy fleece blanket and snuggle up on the couch all nice and warm for the fabulous book I’ve chosen for today that was written by – get ready for it – Anne WYNTER 🤣

Title: Everybody In The Red Brick Building

Written By: Anne Wynter

Illustrated By: Oge Mora

Publisher: Clarion Books, October 19, 2021

Suitable For Ages: 3-6

Themes/Topics: bedtime, urban setting, onomatopoeia/sounds

text copyright Anne Wynter 2021, illustration copyright Oge Mora 2021, Clarion Books

Opening:
“Everybody in the red brick building was asleep.
Until. . .
Baby Izzie sat up in her crib and howled
WaaaAAH!”

Brief Synopsis: [from the publisher] “A fresh, urban take on bedtime stories in the spirit of The House That Jack Built and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, a chain reaction of noises wakes up several children (and a cat) living in an apartment building. But it’s late in the night, so despite the disturbances, one by one, the building’s inhabitants return to their beds—this time with a new set of sounds to lull them to sleep.”

text copyright Anne Wynter 2021, illustration copyright Oge Mora 2021, Clarion Books

Links To Resources: Classroom Onomatopoeia Activities for Kids; Onomatopoeia Writing Activities Kids Will Love; Onomatopoeia A-Z List

text copyright Anne Wynter 2021, illustration copyright Oge Mora 2021, Clarion Books

Why I Like This Book: First, it’s hard to decide what to love more – the text or the art! I have to call it a tie! The art reminds me of The Snowy Day. The colors are so beautiful, and the collage style provides so much visual interest. I especially love the cat 😊. The story takes place in an urban setting. It’s a bedtime story about being woken by noises in the middle of the night and then trying to settle down and get back to sleep. It is full of onomatopoeia which makes it very fun to read aloud, and it’s a cumulative tale so it really allows the reader to experience the escalation of sound. Then, at the climactic noisy moment, it turns around and takes readers back down from all the disruptive, middle-of-the-night noise, through one soothing, quiet, calming sound at a time until everyone is asleep again. The ending is so sweet that I have to tell you about it, so, SPOILER ALERT STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING! The last soft sound, the one that puts the baby back to sleep, is the sound of her mother’s heart beat. 🥰 Parents and grandparents, I see you tearing up 😊

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊