The Christmas Quiet Book: Deborah Underwood & Renata Liwska

Book: The Christmas Quiet Book
Author: Deborah Underwood
Illustrator: Renata Liwska (blog)
Pages: 32
Age Range: 3 and up

The Christmas Quiet Book is a companion to The Quiet Book and The Loud Book (reviewed here) by Deborah Underwood and Renata Liwska. The Christmas Quiet Book features the duo's collection of animal kids experiencing a host of the quieter winter and holiday-themed experiences. Like making snow angels, drinking hot chocolate, and "listening for sleigh bells". As with the other books in the series, Underwood's text is minimal. Each page is a single phrase that ends in quiet:

"Hoping for a snow day quiet"

"Nutcracker quiet"

"Shattered ornament quiet"

And so on. While the book is undoubtedly Christmas-themed, some of the pages are more about winter than about any specific holiday (being bundled up, etc.). The repetition of "quiet" at the end of each phrase encourages the whole book to be read quietly, barely above a whisper, making The Christmas Quiet Book a nice bedtime book. 

Liwska's pencil illustrations (digitally colored) are delightful. The animals are fuzzy and cute. The illustrations are simple enough for toddlers to follow, but with surprising details to reward more careful readers (like characters walking right out of a book, into the shadows, as a child sleeps). The animals' postures and expressions capture universal feelings, like the furtive blush of a rabbit who drops a Christmas ornament, and the nervousness of a lamb who has forgotten her lines in the class play.

Baby Bookworm (age 2 1/2) loves The Christmas Quiet Book. She likes to point things out in the pictures, and ask questions about what some of the pages mean. (Why are the kids drinking cocoa? She thought that was a grownup drink, etc.) Will there be a Christmas Loud Book published next year? If so, it's sure to be on our reading list. Recommended for reading in front of the fire, or curled up on the couch, with kids age 3 and up. 

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (@hmhkids)
Publication Date: October 16, 2012
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

© 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).