A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound

A child's view on things that go bump in the night. I love John Irving's adult novels. This children's book has beautiful illustrations, and the story is scary without being too scary to read to children.

I really like John Irving's writing and have all of his books! This one sounded really interesting and I was curious whether it would work for both adults and children. I found that this book could entertain both adults and children and was written in a way that was at a child's level, but not talking down to them. It was realistic as well as creative and a unique style of writing for a children's book.

I don't know if Irving has any more children's books in him -- I certainly hope so. This one is an excellent first effort, and anyone familiar with his novel "A Widow for One Year" already knows the story. My three-year-old son sees and hears ghosts and monsters everywhere. He's not afraid of them; they're just there, part of his nighttime world. This book is right up his alley, full of spooky speculations about what might be, and even when the simple explanation comes out, why, that just might be scary too. This is far more interesting to my son than if everything had just been hunky-dory A-OK. In a moment this became his favorite book. I'm a huge Irving fan, and I'm delighted that I can now share his work with my sons before they turn 18.

This is an interesting book for children who have fears of the dark and night time noises. It offers comfort in reality rather than fantasy. While acknowledging the fears of the child, this book does not try to ease them. I initially did not like the book because it left me without a "good" feeling by it's end. I felt no resolution. But this is why I like it now. It is a story that illustrates the scary reality of the unknown without trying to give the reader answers. This book is real and it has a sense of humour too.