Joshua's Night Whispers

by Scholastic Inc. (Contributor), Rhonda Mitchell (Illustrator)

Joshua and his father listen to the night sounds

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

1 pages, Board Book

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

For more than 100 years, Scholastic has been meeting children where they are – at school, at home and in their communities – by creating quality content and experiences, all beginning with literacy. Scholastic delivers stories, characters, and learning moments that empower all kids to become lifelong readers and learners through bestselling children's books, literacy- and knowledge-building resources for schools including classroom magazines, and award-winning, entertaining children's media.

Reviews

[Joseph Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Illustrations are gorgeous, message is simple and heartwarming. I've read it to both my children countless times, and never tire of it. Angela Johnson understands how the night can be overwhelming for a child, and how a parent's comfort can transform fear or disquiet into shared wonder.
Perfect.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa sat in her laundry basket boat with framed pictures of herself and Angelica while I read this story.

[Chandra Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It was given to my son Joshua as a gift many years ago. We now read it to his son. It a very sweet book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 1 and up. Joshua and his father listen together to the sounds at nighttime before he falls asleep. A perfect bedtime book for toddlers, featuring a Black family.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really sweet book about a little boy who gets up in the middle of the night to explore the sounds he hears. It has very little text but I think it is very well-crafted and it really pulled me in. It uses ellipses very well and keeps the reader in suspense about what Joshua will find. I think younger kids would really enjoy this book because they can all remember a time when they felt this way. It would be a fun book to read during a unit about author's craft and different things authors use in their writing to pull the reader in.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story about a little boy who wakes in the middle of the night and is a little scared of the night whispers coming through his house. Many young readers will be able to connect to this story with its beautiful interpretive language. This story is a great one to introduce the purpose and uses of elipses.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another book from the ped's office, but with a message I'm not sure I like: The child wakes in the night upon hearing "night whispers." He doesn't seem scared, but he does feel compelled to wander through the house to wake his father so they can listen to the sounds of the night together. Not a fan of that.

[Lisa Overberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but sweet book about a little boy who wakes in the night and goes in search of the night whispers he hears. They lead him to his daddy's safe arms and they listen to the night whispers together. Shows a cute father-son relationship. Also uses ellipses, so could be a good book to introduce this stylistic narrative device.

Grade level: PreK-K

[Courtney Dyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sweet story about a little boy who is awaken in the middle of the night by “night whispers.” He follows the sounds throughout the house until he finally finds comfort is his father’s arms and they listen to the night whispers together. As a teacher, I would use this story as a mentor text to teach small moment stories, writing with ellipses, and writing close-in endings.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

...I know this is a board book, and usually I wouldn't bother writing a review for something like this but both my co-worker and I found this book...unsettling. Don't know if it was the combination of art with story or what, but kinda creepy!!