Everybody in the Red Brick Building: A Rhythmic Bedtime Story About Noisy Neighbors for Children

by Anne Wynter, Oge Mora (Illustrator)

A fresh, urban take on bedtime stories in the spirit of The House That Jack Built and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, from debut author Anne Wynter and Caldecott Honoree Oge Mora.

Everybody in the red brick building was asleep. Until . . .

WaaaAAH!
Rraak! Wake up!
Pitter patter STOMP!
Pssheew!

A chain reaction of noises wakes up several children (and a cat) living in an apartment building. But it’s late in the night, so despite the disturbances, one by one, the building’s inhabitants return to their beds—this time with a new set of sounds to lull them to sleep.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Humor, Realistic Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Brittany Thurman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Waaaaah!” “Pssheew!””weehooweeehoo!” Sounds can awaken. “SHH. Shh.” “Plonk. Plonk.” Sounds can lullaby little ones to sleep.

How easy is it to be awaken from a deep slumber. Before long, everyone is awake and making noise until it’s time to go back to sleep.

Everybody in the Red Brick Building is a vibrant and playful read aloud featuring the fun and exciting sounds that accompany childhood play! Anne Wynter’s rhythmic text, merged with Oge Mora’s brilliant illustrations make this an instant classic!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words and pictures work together exquisitely in this picture book that ramps up then slows down, all with sounds. Characters knit together in community and Oge Mora's gorgeous collage make for a fun yet comforting story woven especially for bedtime.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The night can be noisy; the night can be quiet in this story about the residents of an apartment building. Pair this with Pat Hutchins's Good-Night, Owl! for a book with a similar theme.
For the right reader, this will be a fun Pajama Day read-aloud.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun chain-of-events tale about what happens when a baby cries during the night.

A big winner for sound effects fans.



With bright illustrations by Oge Mora.

[Ronan Crutchfield]

I loved all the sounds in the book! The loud sounds and the quiet sounds and everything between

[Lindsay Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a special book! I loved its circular nature, starting with alarming and rousing sounds from the various people living in the red brick building to the comforting sounds anyone might hear at night. I can imagine reading this story to my children when they were younger (now they are middle schoolers) and having fun with all the onomatopoeia. And the illustrations...Oge Mora's use of color, texture, and patterns is divine and a treat to the eyes! I think you'll want this book on your children's book shelf.

[Kate Allen Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is gorgeous! Wynter's deft use of language, onomatopoeia, and lyricism create a mood of mystery and wonder around the titular Red Brick Building. The story follows the building as it wakes to the sounds of Baby Izzie's cries and then refinds quiet, peace, and sleep. The cumulative structure works beautifully, engaging even the youngest readers. And, Oge Mora's art is breathtaking (as always), bringing fun, whimsy, and vibrancy to every spread. Highly recommend!

[Lisa Katzenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet picture book uses a circular story format to show a diverse cast of characters at night. A baby starts a chain reaction of the sounds throughout the apartment building, and we get a glimpse into each family’s lives. The onomatopoeia provides beautiful music to this sweet story and the illustrations are beautiful. A great bedtime read to help little ones settle down at night.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the red brick building everybody is woken by a different sound and as the action continues to unfold, children will be eager to turn the pages and see what happens next. This is a fun bedtime book and kids will enjoy mimicking the onomatopoeia sounds each character or thing makes. From the crying baby to the squawking parrot to the stomping of feet, readers will wonder who’s woken up next? But just as the action reaches its climax, the author cleverly brings us back down until everyone in the red brick building is fast asleep. A cumulative story that begs to be read aloud whether at night or during the daytime.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much perfect in every way. Oge Mora's wonderful cut paper collage illustrations, sound effects in the text that beg to be said out loud, storytelling structure with repetition that begs for interaction. Love it! If I were doing storytelling with kids, this would be one of my picks. Classic.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers see the chain reaction when a baby wakes up and cries. They see how that event causes others throughout the building when other wake up and then wake up others. The cycle continues as the baby settles and others in their apartments also settle to rest too.

[DiAnne Warfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holt-Delhi library PJ story time 02-28-2024

[Stephanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, charming, easy to read.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous collage illustrations almost outshine a terrific read-aloud text full of onomatopoeia and rhythmic repetition. A bedtime tale that starts with energy and slows down for sleep.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, what a highly relatable and beautiful picture book! Mora's spreads remind me of Ezra Jack Keats' - especially later on in the book. A joyful read.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great read aloud and the illustrations are wonderful! I loved reading it with my daughter and she immediately asked for it again.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attractive illustrations tell of a baby waking and causing a string of events waking everybody and what gets them all back to sleep.

Maybe a 3.5 and might be useful for children who wake up and have either night fears or trouble falling back to sleep.

EJK Honor (Writing)

[Meghan Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness gracious, this is a gorgeous book. Oge Mora's incredible illustrations meet Anne Wynter's perfect onomatopoetic words in this fabulous book, perfect for a bedtime read-aloud. The raucous sounds that wake the children living in the red brick building grow collectively in their fun and noisiness. They are then mirrored by the quiet, comforting nighttime sounds of families finding sleep again. So satisfying, so beautiful. This is a must-have on every child's bookshelf for the end-of-the-day wind down.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4.5 year old loved this one! It's very effective as a nighttime book, a City book, and a story that uses repetition well to build up and then cool back down. She enjoyed learning all the different noises that are happening in the apartments throughout the story and saying them along with me as we read. Oge Mora's illustrations gave life to a story that in the hands of a less interesting illustrator might have been less effective. Does a great job of just what it is.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This makes me miss PJ story time so much!! Gonna read it for a regular story time though.

2023 update: I read this for an outreach story time today and holy cow it worked so well! The way it ramped up and then back down really reinforced how well this would work for a PJ story time. When everyone was awake, all the kiddos were wild! Then as everything quieted down, they all gathered around me and were listening so well. It was magical.

[Robin Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever you do, do not wake up baby Izzie! Because if you do, it will create a domino effect that will wake up everybody in the red brick building. This super fun, gorgeously illustrated cumulative story is filled with heart, humor, and onomatopoeia galore that will delight young and old readers at bedtime. It's a winner. Highly recommended.

[Sophia Gholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read aloud! Wynter's language is both playful and beautiful, and is perfectly coupled with Mora's fantastic illustrations. Everybody in the Red Brick Building will have young readers giggling and reading along. Not just for bedtime, this book makes a great and engaging read for all young audiences!

[Helen Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect night time read. Anne Wynter's clever, lulling, rhythmic text captivates the dynamic city sounds that wake its dwellers up—until soothing city sounds lull them back to sleep. Oge Mora's signature and vibrant collage combines acrylics, gouache, patterned paper, and pastels in energetic mood. Highly recommend!

[Aliza Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of delicious onomatopoeia and language. Everyone is asleep in the red brick building…until they’re not. A wave of ramped up noise and activity, then it crests and retreats back into the quiet of sleep.

[Laura Gehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books with circular endings. This story builds to the climax with energetic onomatopoeia, then cycles back to the first line at the end with soothing onomatopoeia. The illustrations are beautiful. A fun, sweet and soothing bedtime read.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute. Has a Napping House feel to it but more contemporary and of course I'm a huge Oge Mora fan so the illustrations are also awesome.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERYBODY IN THE RED BRICK BUILDING is the perfect bedtime story. The book begins when everybody in the red brick building is asleep - until baby Izzie wakes up with a Waaah! This wakes up Rayhan, who checks on his parrot with a Raak! Wake Up! Before long, everyone in the building is awake. Then, one by one, they each get back to sleep with the soothing sounds of night, such as the shh shh of the street sweeper, to help lull them back to sleep... until everybody in the red brick building is asleep.

What I loved: This picture book is a fantastic bedtime read, beginning with all the activity and sounds that wake everyone up and slowly building back up the soothing sounds of night leading to sleep. For young readers, these reiterated sounds and rhythmic text will help to lull them to sleep as well. Although the noises of apartment-style living may feel a little close to home for adults, there is a lot of fun that can be seen across the apartments as well that is sure to charm children.

Each page reiterates the previous sounds, building upon the past pages to awake and then starting over for sleep. There are relatively few words on each page, making it turn quickly - a great feature for toddlers and preschoolers. The illustrations are also visually interesting with a papier mache art look. The children on each page come to life with fun expressions and activities, and the diversity in skintones is really fantastic. This ends up being a really simple but fun and soothing story to read aloud.

Final verdict: A fantastic bedtime pick, EVERYBODY IN THE RED BRICK BUILDING is a charming and soothing buildable picture book story that young readers are sure to love. Recommend for toddlers and up.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody in the red brick building was sleeping until Baby Izzie howled in her crib. That set off a chain reaction that got lots of people in the building awake. Rayhan tried to quietly check on his parrot, who shouted to Wake up! The boys sleeping outside got into a game of flashlight tag. Natalia set off her light-up rocket. And the noise kept growing with a car alarm too. Then quiet returned with the street sweeper going by, acorns plonking down, windchimes, and Izzie getting snuggles. Finally, everyone in the red brick building was asleep – again.

Wynter takes a classic children’s story structure and brings the noises to a full cacophony before returning the building steadily to quiet again. The book is a great mixture of wildness in the middle of the night and then quieting to fall asleep, making it a great book to get restless children to bed. The text is filled with repeating loud noises that children will enjoy joining in to help make them even louder. As the book quiets down, the sounds become soft and gentle while staying just as enjoyable as before.

Mora’s illustrations are done in colorful paper collage that show the diverse community that lives in the red brick building together. The colors take the deep blue of night to the orange warmth of indoors to teals, lavenders, and yellows. The colors are engaging, making each page turn a new room of its own. The illustrations are just as dynamic as the book, and that is certainly saying something!

A great read-aloud bedtime book. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Everybody in the red brick building was asleep." When Baby Izzie wakes with a noisy start she sets off a cascade of raucous antics around the red brick building where she lives. While each action triggers a reaction, the residents of the building finally settle themselves back down until everybody in the red brick building was asleep again.

Oge Mora's signature collage here combines acrylics, gouache, China markers, patterned paper, pastels, and old book clippings in a range of vibrant evening jewel tones in energetic double page spreads.

Obvious pairing with The Napping House for a sweet cumulative bedtime storytime.

[Jocelyn Rish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book dancing with sound and color that nevertheless will lull kids to sleep. The story is bookended by an extension of the title: “Everybody in the red brick building was asleep.” At the start, the residents of the building are awaked one-by-one by a cascading ripple of sounds from the other apartments, which makes this a delightful read aloud. After it culminates with a car alarm, the residents begin to settle back down with the softer, comforting noises of falling to sleep (also fun for reading aloud). The last spread is very touching and should guide kids to sleep. Anne Wynter’s tight prose and onomatopoeia make this a treat for the reader and the listener. And Oge Mora’s textures and vibrant colors layered with even more colors make this equally a treat for the eyes.