Noisy Animals!

 I’ve been enjoying Darrin Lunde’s books for a while – and this summer he had two new books hit the shelves. What I really appreciate is that Darrin writes from his experience of being a biologist – he’s the collection manager in the Division of Mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Themes: nonfiction, animals, animal behavior

Who's Making All That NOISE?! 

by Darrin Lunde; illus. by Erica J. Chen 

32 pages; ages 3-7

Charlesbridge, 2025

Rap tap tap! Rap tap tap tap!

Who’s making all that noise?!

Owl and squirrel and a bunch of other animals want to know because it is sure a LOUD hammering on a tree! Before we turn the page, though, can you guess who it might be?

If you said woodpecker, you would be right! Woodpeckers hammer on trees to find ants and other insects. They hammer on trees to communicate with other woodpeckers. And when they hammer on the side of my house, I’m pretty sure they’re doing it just to bug me!

From creaky clicks in the sea to grunts, roars, and quacks, readers meet seven animals who make their own kinds of noises.

What I like about this book: I like the format of paired spreads. The first presents the sound and asks “Who’s making all that noise?” There’s a brief description of the sound: it’s a loud blast of air, or it sounds like rumbling thunder. This makes for a fun read-aloud because you can pause … and wait … and let kids guess … before turning the page to reveal the Noisy Animal! Also, it’s fun to read the sounds. I also like that there’s back matter: a spread filled with facts about the noises animals make.

Some of Darrin’s books are being published in board book format – here’s one

Whose Egg Is That? (Whose Is THAT?) Board book 

by Darrin Lunde; illus. by Kelsey Oseid 

22 pages; ages 0-3

Charlesbridge, 2025

As with the book above, Whose Egg Is That? Is a nonfiction guessing game exploring the connections between an animal, its eggs, and its habitat. With fewer pages come fewer animals, in this case: emperor penguin, sea turtle, ostrich, robin, and dinosaur. The final spread shares fun facts about the featured critters – and their eggs.

Beyond the Books:

Listen to animals! Where? I sit on my porch in the morning and listen to birds. I go to the zoo where I can hear penguins and lions. And when the weather allows, I leave my windows open at night so I can hear frogs calling, owls hooting, and foxes screaming.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ WELCOME BACK!

 Welcome back from summer vacay! Just in time to meet a teensy flower that I look for outside my kitchen door every summer. It's so tiny it often goes unnoticed - but not this year.

 

Meet the Blue-eyed Grass! 

 

 

I've got a few of these tiny (less than 1" across) flowers that pop up near my house when there's enough rain. They don't always look like flowers - in fact, their flat stems and blade-like leaves give them a bunchy "grass-like" appearance. Which is probably how they got their name, "blue-eyed grass" - though to tell the truth, I think they have more of a yellow eye.

 

These flowers aren't grass at all, but are related to irises. And when you see the seed pod it makes sense, as they look a bit like rounded iris pods. Blue-eyed grass is a native plant, and can grow as tall as 18 inches - though mine rarely grow taller than half-a-foot.

 

This week, keep your eyes peeled for tiny blue flowers and tiny seed pods. If you can, collect some seeds and try to grow them to plant at the edge of your yard or garden.

 

What color of eyes does the grass in your yard have? 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ Make your own (very quiet) Fourth of July Explosions!

 With the Fourth of July just a couple days away, I thought I'd share some alternatives to fireworks. These hands-on activities will provide plenty of pop, sizzle, and fizz without the big noise.

Chances are you have many of the ingredients in your cupboards, but check the materials lists in case you need to stock up before Friday. Then, after the parade and potato salad, invite friends and family to create their own Fourth of July celebration in your back yard.

Exploding paint Bags ~ more pop than boom!

Blobs in a Bottle ~ a simple take on lava lamps. All you need is oil, water, food coloring - and some alka-selzer.

Erupting Rainbow ~ Of course vinegar is involved!

Fizzy sidewalk chalk fireworks ~ pffff!

For more activities, check out this post from a few years ago

I'm taking a summer break to explore nature in my neighborhood, and catch up on some writing. And of course, I'm tucking a bunch of books in my beach tote for summer reading! 

Enjoy! See you in August!