QUIET written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola is a concept book told in a gentle whisper about what quiet means and how quiet feels. It begins simply as a grandfather along with his grandson and granddaughter and their dog go out for a walk.
They see a lot of very busy things happening such as bees darting and buzzing, ants crawling in a line, flowers swaying in the breeze, frogs jumping about, birds flying in groups and dragonflies gliding through the air to the other side of the brook. Everything is alive and moving about, including the grandkids and the playful dog.
Then grandfather sees a welcome sight----a charming park bench. “Let’s not be so busy. Why don’t we sit here, you next to me.” And they do. Now they notice thirty purple and yellow birds resting comfortably on the branches of a tree and singing. As everything slows down the children see things and hear things that they couldn’t see and hear before.
The final double-spread illustration is particularly powerful. It depicts grandfather and the kids sitting on the park bench with the dog by their side. We see them from the back as they look out over the hills. The text reminds the reader, “To be quiet and still is a special thing.”
QUIET written gracefully and illustrated with transparent acrylics and colored pencil by the award-winning children’s literature icon Tomie dePaola is a charming concept book for young children 4-7 years of age (Simon and Schuster, 2018).
Question/Activities for QUIET
Do you have a quiet place where you go to think, read and draw? It can be indoors or out of doors. It can be in a part of your bedroom, under a piece of furniture or in a special place outside near the house such as in the garden or in a tree house. When did you discover this place? How do you feel when you enter this special place? Draw a picture of your quiet place.
Visit your quiet place and look through this book again. The pictures are full of lovely details. Study the illustrations and try to find the following animals and insects: a snail, a squirrel, fish, two doves, a mouse, a duck, a bee, a ladybug, a fox, a butterfly, a row of ants and a bunny.
How do you feel when you look at the final illustration in this book of the grandfather, his two grandchildren and their dog sitting quietly on a park bench and looking out over the hill? What do you think each of them see? What do you think they each are hearing? What could they each be thinking about? Give this illustration a title. It can be more than one word in length.
