Q is for The Quiet Book: Library Notes

 My idea of a quiet book is what we made for our kids to keep them busy when they had to sit still for a long period of time and preferably be fairly quiet.  My quiet book was a variety of activities like dot-to-dot, spot the difference, word puzzles and colouring pages.  It was very beneficial and I would still recommend having resources like this on hand to utilize as needed.

However, today I am presenting The Quiet Book.  It is a best seller along with it's counterpart called The Loud Book.  I have never opened the cover of this book before now so we can discover together what it is about.  The colour scheme and animation are very soft and quiet to set the tone.
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Interesting.  It is a list of different reasons or occasions where you are quiet.  Simple yet impactful.

Why I like it is because then you really think about the differences between the types of quiet you can be.  For example, for laughter, it could be nervous laughter, or excited laughter or maniacal laughter. They are actually quite different forms of laughter.   This book lists types of quiet thus subtly suggesting that they are all different and challenging you to identify what makes them unique.   

I would suggest coming up with your own list of occasions when you would be quiet BEFORE opening the book.After making your list,, read the book and see how many of the examples you had discovered on your own. Consider the ones you missed and see if any more come to mind after reading the book.

Did you consider how 'the playing hide and seek type of quiet' feels?  Is that sort of quiet the same quiet as waiting for an orchestra to start a concert?  How does that quiet compare with the quiet feeling after getting into trouble for something? The book helps you to see that there are many times it is important to be quiet.  This is a good discussion topic for a child who struggles to keep quiet AND for one who is "too quiet".  

There is a time for quiet but also a time for noise and laughter and big booming voices.  Being able to understand the difference and know when to be either loud or quiet is a valuable skill to work on with children and this book would be a useful tool for the discussion.

Quiet times are just as memorable and meaningful as energetic loud times, sometimes more so.  Taking time to just sit with someone who is hurting when words cannot help or sitting in a fishing boat with your dad at sunrise when all the world seems right are examples or precious quiet time.  Moments of quiet refresh and restore the body and mind and by way of contrast allow us to appreciate noise more.  Quiet is more than no noise though, it is also a state of peace and calm.

May you and the child(ren) in your life enjoy some quiet times and The Quiet Book too!




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