Additional Book Information
Series: NYRB Kids
ISBN: 9781590177112
Pages: 48
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
The Little Woman Wanted Noise
by Val Teal, illustrated by Robert Lawson
A lost classic from the illustrator of The Story of Ferdinand and Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
CLANG! THUMP! WHOOSH! BANG! The big city is a noisy place.
But the little woman doesn’t mind, the big city is her home. Then one day she is given a wonderful gift, a “pleasant, peaceful farm” in the country. The farm is nearly perfect—only with all the quiet, the little woman can’t relax.
So she buys a cow, she buys a dog, a cat and a duck, a rooster, a pig. Now the farm is noisy indeed. Still, something’s missing. She decides to return to the city for that one special thing she knows will make her farm feel just like home. And by the end of her tale the little woman is happy to find that even though she has no rest, she has peace of mind.
Published only seven years after The Story of Ferdinand, The Little Woman Wanted Noise shows Robert Lawson at the peak of his talent and contains some of the most stunning and innovative black-and-white drawings in all of American picture-book history. They are the joyous accompaniment to Val Teal’s story, which reminds us that a life without a little chaos is no life at all.
Click to enlarge image
Praise
Parents may lose [their minds] if they listen to the noises which the book will provoke from enthusiastic readers, but the children will have a raucously good time with it. And those of any age will respond to Robert Lawson's illustrations, which pictures many familiar details for the young to search out.
—The New York Times
The Little Woman Wanted Noise was Val Teal's first book. It tells the story of a little woman who lives in the city between a shoemaker and carpenter and below a printer, so it's always noisy.... The book is at base an animal noises book, with each new animal adding a sound to the list.
—Ariel S. Winter, Vintage Kids' Books My Kids Love