In John Irving's ninth novel A Widow for One Year, a creepy children's book author named Ted Cole writes a bedtime story about things that go bump in the night. That odd, gently comical tale is brought to life here with Tatjana Hauptmann's shadowy, moonlit pencil illustrations. Young Tom wakes up in the middle of the night to an unusual sound, but his two-year-old brother Tim does not. When his fathers asks what it sounded like, Tom reveals a number of silly and scary options: "like a monster with no arms and no legs," or "a dog trying to open a door," or "a ghost dropping stolen peanuts"--"a sound like someone trying not to make a sound," in fact. The illustrations--with a smattering of wordless spreads--show the pajama-clad Tom wandering alone through a big empty house as bulges in the wall and long shadows hint at unseen horrors. In the end, the father tells his boys that the sound is just a mouse in the wall. Tom is immensely relieved, but baby Tim screams because he doesn't know what a mouse is, and stays up all night to ward off the furry, mysterious thing. Not too scary, nor too comforting, Irving's picture-book debut imaginatively captures that late-night world where everything looks and sounds a little like a monster. (Preschool to age 6) --Karin Snelson


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2–Tom wakes up frightened after hearing a noise in the middle of the night and navigates the dark house to find his father. The boy's remarkably descriptive imagination envisions "a monster with no arms and no legs" that "slides on its fur"–and astute viewers will see occasional bulges in the walls and fluttering clothing that complement this description. When his father comes to his room, he has a simple explanation for the noise: there is a mouse in the wall. This answer soothes Tom, but disturbs his younger brother who lies awake imagining his own monster. Dark, atmospheric illustrations capture the unease a child may feel wandering around a sleeping house, as well as the shadows that transform everyday objects into scarier sights. However, the story the artwork tells seems to be a different one from that of the text, and literal-minded youngsters may not make the leap. The father is present throughout most of the narrative, but never appears in the pictures. The text itself is a bit too complex for the intended audience, and the emphasis on frightening details detracts from the comfort of the father's simple explanation. Originally published as a children's story within the author's adult novel, A Widow for One Year (Random, 1998), this offering doesn't stand on its own.–Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Book Description
WHEN A YOUNG BOY wakes up in the middle of the night, an unfamiliar sound conjures frightening images in his mind. Children everywhere can now enjoy John Irving’s story about nighttime uncertainties, A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound. Originally found within Irving’s ninth novel, A Widow for One Year, this atmospheric tale has been brought to life by Tatjana Hauptmann’s beautifully muted illustrations. Includes an introduction by the author.


From the Inside Flap
WHEN A YOUNG BOY wakes up in the middle of the night, an unfamiliar sound conjures frightening images in his mind.

Children everywhere can now enjoy John Irving’s story about nighttime uncertainties, A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound. Originally found within Irving’s ninth novel, A Widow for One Year, this atmospheric tale has been brought to life by Tatjana Hauptmann’s beautifully muted illustrations.

Includes an introduction by the author.


About the Author
John Irving is the author of numerous novels for adults, including A Widow for One Year, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The World According to Garp. He lives in Vermont and Toronto.

Tatjana Hauptmann has illustrated many children’s picture books in Europe. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

ANNOTATION

When Tom is awakened by the sound of a "monster," he tells his father what he thinks he heard.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

WHEN A YOUNG BOY wakes up in the middle of the night, an unfamiliar sound conjures frightening images in his mind.

Children everywhere can now enjoy John Irving's story about nighttime uncertainties, A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound. Originally found within Irving's ninth novel, A Widow for One Year, this atmospheric tale has been brought to life by Tatjana Hauptmann's beautifully muted illustrations.

Includes an introduction by the author.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Irving's first book for children, an atmospheric story originally included as part of his adult novel A Widow for One Year, introduces wide-eyed Tom, pictured in adorably rumpled pajamas. The boy wakes up in the night to a mysterious sound. "It was a sound like, in the closet, if one of Mommy's dresses came alive and it tried to climb off the hanger," he explains to his unseen father. Tom then pads around the house, solo, in search of the source. Irving credibly captures the imagined fears of a child jolted out of sleep: "It seemed to Tom that the sound was definitely the sound of an armless, legless monster dragging its thick, wet fur." Using broad pencil strokes and watercolor wash, Hauptmann (A Day in the Life of Petronella Pig) creates a world of moonlit blue shadows where innocent objects a coat in a closet, a crumpled sweater take on eerie aspects. The book's large format and empty-feeling spreads enhance the creepiness quotient. Yet the artist tempers the mood by picturing the wide-eyed boy always accompanied by his animated teddy bear under the full moon's light. The visuals may cause a few shivers, but the story ends on a reassuring note: "A mouse crawling in the walls!... That's all it was!" says Tom. In showing young readers that the things that go bump in the night are, in reality, not so scary, Irving succeeds in helping them confront their fears. Ages 4-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Irving has taken this story from his novel A Widow for One Year, which is about a writer for children. In the middle of the night Tom wakes up, while his little brother stays asleep. So he wakes his father, asking if he heard a sound, "like a monster..." Tom tries to describe the sound in many ways, culminating with the title of the book. As his father listens for the sound with him, even his brother wakes up. "It's just a mouse," his father tries to reassure him. "Just hit the wall." Tom then can go back to sleep. But little Tim, not knowing what a mouse is, stays awake all night listening and hitting the wall. The strange tale is not too frightening, but Hauptmann's illustrations, single pages opposite text followed frequently by textless double-page spreads, create a mood of anxiety which even adults can feel. She uses scratchy colored pencil strokes to produce interior scenes empty of all but a piece or two of furniture, rumpled clothes hanging on hooks, shadows from the moonlight through mullioned windows, etc. And of course, tousle-haired Tom in his too-big pajamas leads us through the dark house with his bear in this mood piece that leaves a lot to the imagination. The author's introduction relates the story to his experiences with his own children. 2003 (orig. 1998), Doubleday Books for Young Readers/Random House Children's Books, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Tom wakes up frightened after hearing a noise in the middle of the night and navigates the dark house to find his father. The boy's remarkably descriptive imagination envisions "a monster with no arms and no legs" that "slides on its fur"-and astute viewers will see occasional bulges in the walls and fluttering clothing that complement this description. When his father comes to his room, he has a simple explanation for the noise: there is a mouse in the wall. This answer soothes Tom, but disturbs his younger brother who lies awake imagining his own monster. Dark, atmospheric illustrations capture the unease a child may feel wandering around a sleeping house, as well as the shadows that transform everyday objects into scarier sights. However, the story the artwork tells seems to be a different one from that of the text, and literal-minded youngsters may not make the leap. The father is present throughout most of the narrative, but never appears in the pictures. The text itself is a bit too complex for the intended audience, and the emphasis on frightening details detracts from the comfort of the father's simple explanation. Originally published as a children's story within the author's adult novel, A Widow for One Year (Random, 1998), this offering doesn't stand on its own.-Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews