BOING!

It’s another noisy alphabet romp.

Flat, digitally composed characters and scenarios generate noises for each letter of the alphabet. As the noisy narrative begins, readers will need to look carefully. The initial spread shows a peaceful interior, with a grandfather-type figure with a white mustache watering a houseplant, a child bouncing a ball, and a cat snoozing. In the next spread, the grandfather-type sneezes (“Ah…Ah…Ah…Ah-choo!”), startling the child, who loses control of the ball, which bounces out the window (“BIFF! BOP! BOOM! BOING!”), and the chase is on. “FLIP…FLOP…FLUMP”: A blue bulldog enters the scene chasing the ball and then grabbing it, leading the pursuing child and grandfather past the ice cream cart (“KA-CHING!” goes its till as the duo buy cones), through the park, into a duck pond (“Quack?”), and finally back home, where the child—Xavier—is welcomed warmly. But even as Xavier falls asleep, the grandfather seems to be beginning another sneeze….Aside from Xavier’s name, the only text is onomatopoeia, either the sounds of objects or nonverbal vocalizations such as sighs and grunts. The flow from spread to spread is clever, fluid, and active, with much to point and giggle at. The grandfather figure and the person who welcomes Xavier back home both have light-brown skin, while Xavier is pale.

Be ready for some rousing read-alouds! (Picture book. 4-7)