Title: The Great AAA-OOO!
Author/Illustrator: Jonny Lambert
Age Group: 2-6
Synopsis: A scary noise is echoing through the forest, who or what is making it? None of the animals are brave enough to find out.
The Low Down:
Childhood seems to be made up of a never-ending stream of phases. Currently, we are in the midst of a noise-exploration phase. Bug, who speaks very clearly most of the time, has taken to speaking nonsense and trying to recreate every rude noise he can imagine. I’ll be cooking dinner and hear, what appears to be a dying sheep in the next room. I’m working on turning it into a game of animal/object noises (the dying sheep was supposed to be an immersion blender, so we have room for improvement). So I can completely relate to the animals in The Great AAA-OOO! Because sometimes a noise issues from Bug and I think: “What on earth could that be?”
We begin the story by shadowing Mouse as he scampers home only to be disturbed by a hideous noise issuing through the forest. One by one other animals congregate at the tree and try to figure out where the noise is coming from. Then, Moose suggests it’s a monster that will gobble them all up (way to throw gasoline on that fire, Moose). The animals all begin climbing the tree in an effort to get away, when the tree breaks. As any tree would do under the weight of a moose, bear, duck, goose, dove, owl, mouse, and wolf. All the animals come crashing down, each issuing their unique noise. This is when the noise-culprit is revealed and admits that they were making the noise because their scared at night by themselves. In a sweet turn of events, the animals comfort their friend and finally fall asleep.
Jonny Lambert does a really wonderful job creating a distinct and attractive illustration style in the story. I’ve not seen anything quite like it but it almost looks like cut paper that’s been tweaked in a way that my non-artistic eye can’t detect. Nevertheless, the black background emphasizes this look and really makes the characters pop out. The result is both adorable and striking. Of course, anything that keeps my noise-maker engaged is a huge plus. The illustrations are definitely stronger than the text but that’s not to say that the text isn’t good. The rhyming tale is sweet, just not the strength of the book. I’d buy this library book just to see the page of all the silly animal bottoms sticking up in the air. The humor and artistic skill make me smile. Bug just likes to say “bottoms.”
Story Tips:
- Make a really fabulous AAA-OOO! Bug and I took turns and rating each other’s contributions. “Not so quiet,” was my most frequent critique.
I need more!
Jonny Lambert has some really adorable titles like: A Special You and Little Why. I want to read those just based on the title but the covers show the same great style that Lambert displays in The Great AAA-OOO! . For more info check out Google or Amazon.
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