Shoosh! A great story about making noise

Our new range of Stories for Little Queenslanders books is designed especially for 0-5 year olds, and has been created by authors and illustrators connected to Queensland. 

You'll love spotting familiar - and very cheeky! - local animals in Shoosh! by Simon Howe. Being quiet while babies are sleeping can be hard, but in this story it's the animals making all the noise! Between football playing possums, singing bats and dancing cicadas, will the family ever be able to keep the noise down?

About the book

A group of children playing indoors are sent outside when dad is afraid their noise will wake the baby. In the yard they encounter all kinds of animal sounds including possums thumping on the tin roof, frogs splashing, cicadas laughing, and a rafter of turkeys warbling.

The story has a musical quality with the animals singing, and dancing and playing musical instruments such as the “chipper young wallaby playing guitar”. This is a fun, family tale of thoughtfulness, play and the great outdoors.

Borrow the book from your local library, or discover the eBook and audiobook online.

Why is this a good book to share?

Encouraging play with music has some wonderful benefits for your child's early development. It gets them moving and thinking, and singing helps break down language into syllables making words easier to learn. Playing with musical instruments, even building shakers and rattles at home, inspires creativity and helps build important brain connections. Use this book to inspire some noisy music making at home!

Ideas for sharing the book together  

Here are just some of the many ways to share this book with your little ones: 

• Start with the cover and point out the line of children ambling across the cover. Talk about how the word Shoosh and how holding your finger to your lips and the word Shoosh, both mean “be quiet”. 
• Look at the end papers together and chat about the animals and find your favourite on the title page. 
• Point out the different ways the animals make noises and all the ways the children tell them to be quiet such SHOOSH! and ENOUGH!
• Show how words in upper case emphasise how the words should be read. Encourage your child to join in the cries for quiet like 'stop messing around! and KEEP IT DOWN!
• Don’t skip over new words like  'WHOOPING' and 'HOLLERING' - you'll have fun demonstrating what they mean so everyone can have a go! 

Below are some great videos from State Library's The Corner at Home series activities to try at home once you've shared the story together:

• Musical instruments Join Tim as we search for ways to make musical instruments from household items.
• Soft sounds Join Tiffany as we listen to, and explore soft sounds using everyday items.

About the author and illustrator

Simon Howe is an illustrator, writer and animator. He is best known for creating the animated videos for much-loved kids’ band, Teeny Tiny Stevies, and has illustrated books for several major including the Naughty Dragons series by Natalie Jane Prior.