Review - The Quiet Book

The Quiet Book (The Quiet Book)
by Deborah Underwood
illustrated by Renata Liwska
Date: 2010
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: hardcover
Source: library

All quiet is not created equal. In this irresistibly charming picture book, many different quiet moments are captured, from the anticipation-heavy “Top of the roller coaster quiet” to the shocked-into-silence “First look at your new hairstyle quiet.” The impossibly sweet bears, rabbits, fish, birds, and iguanas are all rendered in soft pencils and colored digitally, and, as in all of the best picture books, the illustrations propel the story far beyond the words. A sure-to-be-a-classic bedtime favorite.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

It's strange. I usually end up liking the first book in a series the most. I've already read The Christmas Quiet Book and The Loud Book!, so I was really looking forward to reading the book that started the series. But I was disappointed. If I'd read The Quiet Book first, I doubt I would've bothered reading the others.

What's the problem? I don't even know. It's just kind of boring. It lacks the magic of The Christmas Quiet Book and the humour of The Loud Book! Even the illustrations don't wow me here like they did in the other two.

It would probably be a good bedtime book because it's boring enough to put kids to sleep. But that's not much fun, either. I'd recommend the other books in the series over this one.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5