Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep!: Listen to the City

by Robert Burleigh, Robert Burleigh

Dawn until dusk, the city is alive with sounds, from the TING-ALING- A-LING of an alarm clock in the morning to the BEEEEEP! BEEEEP! of traffic in the afternoon to the quiet SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH of evening. Noted illustrator Beppe Giacobbe’s bright palette and pleasing cityscapes bring the excitement of the city to life in a story that begs to be read aloud again and again.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Transport, Cars

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2009

About the author

Over the past 35 years, I have published poems, reviews, essays, many filmstrips and videos, and more than 40 children's picture books.

Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!

In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.

-from robertburleigh.com

Reviews

[Andrea Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable little rhyming story. I enjoyed this one.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfying read about a day full of city noises from the POV of a young boy. Burleigh does a lot of interesting play between word placement/design and the illustrations plus the sound words really make this book come alive.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little ditty about the sounds in the big city. It's never dull out there. Great books for kids with short attention spans as the bulk of the story is told with pictures that span a two page spread.

[Amanda Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for using onomatopoeia! It's super fun to read with the kids and have them make the sounds. Takes a little bit of management to make sure the classroom doesn't turn upside down, but it's way fun. (Picture book)

[Y.Poston]

cool sounds & noise book

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too heavy handed with the verse couplets. I would have liked a little more of a story. Love the pictures!

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boy listens to the sounds of city from morning to night.

This picture book uses onomatopoeia predominantly from different forms of transportation, which supports the idea that cities aren’t loud; cars are loud.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep!: Listen to the City by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Beppe Giacobbe shows many sounds a child might encounter in a busy city.

Giacobbe's illustrations are made by drawing and painting with a digital pen on a computer tablet and then layering the solid colors with textures. The colorful images include hand lettered sounds. My favorite images are trash cans, subway, ice cream selling, and wrecking ball.

I strongly disliked the illustration of barge drifting. It appears that the barge has broken away from its tug. Having grown up near the Mississippi River, that means trouble. The barge could hit and damage a dock, bridge, boat or hit something and spill its cargo, polluting the river - all bad outcomes. Barges should be pushed, not drift off!

I generally enjoyed this noisy city book. Children should enjoy interacting with the story by making the sounds. The short text should appeal to young listeners and readers. "Strutting" and "short-cutting" seem a tad forced for a rhyme, as well as possibly being unfamiliar to the target audience. The color combinations are interesting. While the ending is soothing, big cities are rarely completely quiet at night. Kids who like this may enjoy Everthing Goes: On Land. 3.5 star rating.

For ages 3.5 to 6, rhymes, sounds, cities, transportation, city-urban-life, noises, onomatopeia, emergent-reader, and fans of Robert Burleigh and Beppe Giacobbe.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the boldness of the colours- each ones is mostly flat and unadulterated by shades and tints. Instead, shapes and textures are created by letting other colours show through as if just using a light brushstroke. The artist's technique of using the computer to create the illustrations could come off as flat but instead is used to create just the perfect stroke for each element of the pictures. The backgrounds avoid flatness by having little flecks of colour occasionally "seep through." Lots of contrasting colours are used and unexpected combinations which keep things lively. I love how the orange light appears from the purpley blue on the very first two page spread, annoucing the morning. These illustrations are great for the youngest children, babies and preschoolers, simple and bright, and match the limited rhyming text. I love how the onomatopoeia interrupts the 8 syllable long couplets, which could get annoying very quickly if read exclusively. Despite being a "loud" and busy book, this could also be appropriate for bedtime with the softness of its ending, portraying the changing nature of the city.

[Lana Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen to the sounds of the city with this sing along book that invites participation when reading aloud. City life is vibrantly extracted. Text is loud-- screaming all over the place with bright and bold, twisting, turning colors. Words rhyme and build phonemic awareness. This book is geared for Pre-K to 1st grade classrooms.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library last week.

This book is good -- not must-have brilliant -- but good. I wish, though, that someone had pushed this book to be better. I wish someone had pushed the author/illustrator to show some of the many cultures that make up NYC -- THAT would have been a much better book. As this book stands now, it looks like no city I know.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In simple, rhyming couplets and vibrant illustrations we get a vivid portrait of the sounds of life in the city. If you want to get picky, not everything included can be heard, but, like this book, it all can be appreciated.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boldly illustrated with perspective that lends itself to the largeness of a city, this book offers much in the way of onomatopoeia starting with "zzzz" of a morning sleeper to "shhhh!" of the end of day. Children needn't live in a city to feel the experience through this title.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minimal text and boldly colored illustrations accompany the story of a young boy as he experiences the sights and sounds of a busy city from morning until nighttime.

Used for "No More Noise" Storytime: July, 2011.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent choice for "noisy" storytimes.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

One small quibble. If this is a REAL city, it's never,ever, quiet.Not even at night!

[Hilary]

Recommended at the BYU Symposium.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the simple rhymes describing everyday sounds and noises. The illustrations, which are purposely flat, are a bit "noisy" which loses the focal point.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun one. Great illustrations, fun sound effects, short phrases. Not quite as popular as Alphabeep, but still good.

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

city, onomatopoeic

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Benjamin loves this book. Charlene found it at the library and bought a copy. We read it all the time. It has great illustrations.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful and energetic - full of big city sounds and sights.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for sounds.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onomatopaeia lesson

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2 yr old loves this book. He is familiar with almost everything in the book about living in the city, and he loves books that use sounds (like the words 'clang clang!') to tell a story.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish there was more to the story than the city noises alone. L & M liked having it read to them, but it may have been the illustrations that won them over. Hard to say.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too hard to read out loud

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like this book

[Lindsay]

sounds, cities, transportation, rhyming