Andrew Kelly is a Melbourne environmentalist and writer of numerous children’s stories including Little Lon and Peregrines in the City .
Hélène Magisson is a Brisbane illustrator, originally from France where she worked as a painting restorer in Paris, and trained in the art of medieval illumination. This means that her work is defined by a refined delicacy and a subtle use of colour as shown in her many picture books which include The Velveteen Rabbit,Before You Were Born and the charming Claudette which she both wrote and illustrated.
The Noisy Noisy City’s minimal text is mainly onomatopoeic words describing city sounds, such the noise of a tram – ding ding ding; a helicopter – chopitty chop; a jackhammer – ratatat tat. Children will enjoy imitating these sounds as well as those of rubbish trucks, fast cars, car radios, police sirens and there is even a fire engine. Not only is this book full of noise it is also packed with action as vehicles zip and zoom and crash across the pages. People peer and loom from all sorts of angles and perspectives. Hélène Magisson said she found this an exhilarating work to illustrate as she had so much scope to go wild with colour and movement.
Children will enjoy joining in making all the sounds as you read along. Each page has plenty of detail to explore including a little bird with a twig who is caught up in all the hustle and bustle but does make it safely back to its nest. A totally fun book from start to finish, one to read at any time of day but perhaps not at bedtime!
Andrew Kelly is a Melbourne environmentalist and writer of numerous children’s stories including Little Lon and Peregrines in the City .
