Picture Book Review | Quiet! by Paul Bright and Guy Parker-Rees

Since my daughter’s birth, each weekend my wife and I have taken her to our local library to borrow a dozen or so picture books, as much for our own sakes as for our daughter’s (wonderful though it is, there’s only so many times that a person can recite The Gruffalo). Having long-since exhausted our own childhood favourites, and with very little knowledge of what’s hot and what’s not in the picture book world these days, this ‘try before you buy’ system has served us very well so far, allowing us to inexpensively unearth little trinkets like Quiet! that we would probably not have stumbled upon otherwise.

Quiet! is one of these extraordinary books that appeals to a parent as well as a child. Guy Parker-Rees’ multihued cartoon illustrations instantly incarcerate an infant’s interest; our daughter is just four months old and already her eyes visibly widen at the sight of his vibrant jungle palette. Just as importantly though, Paul Bright’s metrical verses visibly appeal to and excite even those not yet old enough to follow their meaning. And for us parents, the protagonists themselves are a pair with whom we can sympathise: poor old sleep-deprived Ma and Pa Lion, who’ve just got their little cub off to sleep, only for every conceivable clamour and commotion to suddenly rear their raucous heads.

Colourful, charming and painfully redolent, Quiet! is a must for any discerning youngster’s (or parent’s...) bookshelf.