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Noisy Books
The Winter Noisy Book
A little dog listens to the indoor and outdoor sounds of sneezes, branches rattling against the window, the crackling of a fire in the fireplace, and the tinkling of iced tree branches
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
About the author
Margaret Wise Brown
412 books1,355 followersMargaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 21, 2019
Winter has come and the little dog called Muffin listens to what he can hear, fires crackling, popcorn popping and other seasonal noises. Although the artwork is lovely and interesting to look at the story is a little bit repetitive but I'm sure it will be interesting enough for the very young and Muffin is a lovely character that small dog lovers will enjoy following.
Read on openlibrary.
Read on openlibrary.
September 11, 2020
So in many ways with her 1947 The Winter Noisy Book Margaret Wise Brown does of course successfully repeat the narrational strategies of her earlier Noisy Books, with little dog Muffin listening for the noises of winter (and with the Winter Noisy Book ending with Muffin finally hearing the soft but persistent sounds of falling snow).
However, I for one have not really been all that textually impressed with and by The Winter Noisy Book and actually do tend to think that the book title (promising all kinds of specifically winter-themed sounds and scenarios) is actually a trifle misleading. For in my humble opinion, much of the presented noises that Muffin is described as hearing in The Winter Noisy Book seem to in fact be more late autumn based, more showing the fall season switching over to winter than pertaining to winter once it has in fact established itself. Rain, increasing frost and ice, but really not much if any snow yet, and that the ONLY instance of there being any kind of presented and substantial snowfall is indeed at the very end of The Winter Noisy Book, this really does make Margaret Wise Brown's text much too late autumnal and not nearly sufficiently hibernal for me personally and as a fan of snowy winters (and most certainly neither what I was expecting nor desiring, as for me, ANY picture book that specifically is titled as being about winter really should also majorly focus on snow and on winter sports and activities such as skiing, making snowmen etc. which in my opinion The Winter Noisy Book just does not really do, as most of Margaret Wise Brown's printed words have much more to do with late fall slowly turning into winter than with winter as a season in and of itself).
Combined with the fact that while aesthetically and artistically speaking I do find Charles G. Shaw's accompanying illustrations visually delightful and with a certain almost surrealist spark to them, I nevertheless just have not found that his pictures either successfully mirror Margaret Wise Brown's text or really celebrate winter as a season (not to mention that the depiction of the father returning home from work almostbmakes him look like some creepy gangster), I just am not really all that enamoured with The Winter Noisy Book and do find the combination of Margaret Wise Brown's text and Charles G. Shaw's images as leaving just a bit to be desired.
However, I for one have not really been all that textually impressed with and by The Winter Noisy Book and actually do tend to think that the book title (promising all kinds of specifically winter-themed sounds and scenarios) is actually a trifle misleading. For in my humble opinion, much of the presented noises that Muffin is described as hearing in The Winter Noisy Book seem to in fact be more late autumn based, more showing the fall season switching over to winter than pertaining to winter once it has in fact established itself. Rain, increasing frost and ice, but really not much if any snow yet, and that the ONLY instance of there being any kind of presented and substantial snowfall is indeed at the very end of The Winter Noisy Book, this really does make Margaret Wise Brown's text much too late autumnal and not nearly sufficiently hibernal for me personally and as a fan of snowy winters (and most certainly neither what I was expecting nor desiring, as for me, ANY picture book that specifically is titled as being about winter really should also majorly focus on snow and on winter sports and activities such as skiing, making snowmen etc. which in my opinion The Winter Noisy Book just does not really do, as most of Margaret Wise Brown's printed words have much more to do with late fall slowly turning into winter than with winter as a season in and of itself).
Combined with the fact that while aesthetically and artistically speaking I do find Charles G. Shaw's accompanying illustrations visually delightful and with a certain almost surrealist spark to them, I nevertheless just have not found that his pictures either successfully mirror Margaret Wise Brown's text or really celebrate winter as a season (not to mention that the depiction of the father returning home from work almostbmakes him look like some creepy gangster), I just am not really all that enamoured with The Winter Noisy Book and do find the combination of Margaret Wise Brown's text and Charles G. Shaw's images as leaving just a bit to be desired.
March 22, 2017
I do recognize the artistic vision of the book. And in the right setting, with the right children it can have great appeal. It's very soothing, especially the second part, after Muffin learns some winter noises and is trying to identify one last softer sound, and would make a good bedtime story. But I have to admit it's not my favorite....
July 3, 2020
Margaret Wise Brown often does little books dealing with different sounds while working a story thru it. This one has a dog named Muffin (nevertheless I forged ahead anyway!) who lays on the floor in a nice warm house listening to the sounds of winter, from the crackle of a fire in the grate to the patter of the first snowflakes. That's about it, but Marg uses cute illustrations from cardboardish paper to make beautiful what reads like a "dumb story". Not exactly Faulkner, but it's a start for the kids.
Four stars
Muffin is a real treat! Arf arf!
Four stars
Muffin is a real treat! Arf arf!
May 29, 2020
Even though this book is dated it is still very enjoyable. Students in grades K-3 will have fun predicting what Muffin hears. It is a good mentor text for a study of the 5 senses. This book is hearing.
January 13, 2019
I love the art in the book a bit more enticing than the words. Took me back to the time when my children were toddlers. Good, tiring times.
January 10, 2020
Muffin the little dog listens to all the different sounds of family and winter, asking the reader to identify what could be making those sounds. Nicely illustrated.
January 10, 2023
It's like someone did up a film noir with block color, and I love it to pieces.
February 28, 2012
This story about a little dog's first experience with snow is full of "sound words" and guessing games. First published in 1947 by the inimitable Margaret Wise Brown, it is still in print today and still captures the child's imagination and attention.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews