Shhh

nbsp;Ruiz Johnson beautifully depicts the high energy of young children in urban settings. Her bright, complementary palette employs blues and warm oranges to enliven the scenes. Children and adults embody wide-ranging skin tones and hair textures and sport a rainbow of colorful, patterned clothing. The child protagonist is seldom seen without an important-looking black-covered book, but it’s only after arriving home that its pages can finally be opened. Amid the whir of housework and meal prep, the child slips into another world, which the artist depicts as a darkly inviting, soundless scene of stars, botanical motifs, animals, an elf, and a mermaid. Through this lovely contrast, preschoolers will understand the transportive power of reading. Lively scenes and a pro-reading theme combine for a solid title with buckets of kid appeal. (Picture book. 2-6)
-- Kirkus Reviews
nbsp;This mostly wordless book contains all the ambience noise that provides the soundtrack to our days . . . a child and their family go through their day; at night, the child opens a book and, in the quiet, their imagination is unleashed. Splashed across a dark spread, the child’s imagination gives rise to mermaids, volcanoes, exotic foliage, and more. A tip of the hat to our everyday hustle and bustle and the unexpected moment when we open a book and are swept into a magical world of our own, Shhh is a story of everyday magic. The artwork is cheery, colorful, and moves across the spreads, giving a feeling of motion to go with the sounds. A fun book to invite toddlers and preschoolers to chime in with their own everyday stories and sounds.

-- Mom Read It