What's That Spooky Sound
After a storm, the animals hear a strange sound coming from a big, dark, scary hole in the ground. What is going on? Badger, Owl and Red Deer do their best, but it is the smallest creature of all – Pigmy Shrew – who bravely faces the dark.
This tale of bravery and friendship inspired by the woods around Killarney and Glengarriff is a real treat. This beautiful picturebook celebrates the Irish countryside, depicting familiar animals and birds while introducing children to lesser-known creatures. There’s a perfect balance of illustration and text, soothing steady repetition of phrases and use of dynamic action words.
The illustrations have a naïve and innocent style that evoke a sense of wonder and nostalgia that will resonate with young children (and their grown-up readers). We get a delightful child-level view as the animal friends move across meadows and rivers, past mountains, trees and waterfalls and even picnic tables in this forest park setting. Being up close to flowers, ferns and leaves, we get a real sense of being in nature.
The gentle story and pictures evoke a beautiful world that will open up the imagination at any time of day but will make for a calming read at bedtime. This is a very special story of bravery, friendship and looking out for each other, ending on a high-flying note! We discover that with courage, your wishes might come true and that even small creatures can do something wonderful to help.
