The Very Noisy Night

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Thinking may be hard, but Eddie’s not stupid even so. He knows he can’t drive like this. So he’ll just have to walk. He knows the way. But this means he’s completely alone. He half wishes he could trade places with Chris, really, he thinks, as he lies atop his sweaty sheets with his face pressed into a pillow. He’s miserable enough to want to be in the presence of someone who cares about him. Someone who will put a hand to his forehead and touch his hair and bring him water so he doesn’t have to drag himself to the kitchen while trying his hardest not to pass out. me too, Sunny,> he tried, putting a hand to his faceplate. He paused for a moment, just listening to the sound of the rain hammering the roof. Then suddenly, he brightened. <...I have an idea.> Sun yelped, but this time, Moon didn't jump -- the sound of the storm was muffled by the layers and layers around them, the thunder brought down from a deafening roar to a deep, low rumble. Moon's eyes narrowed to slits and he tilted his faceplate again. He’s just passed a restaurant that he recognizes as being roughly the halfway point between their houses when everything goes from bad to worse.

He’s starting to feel less foggy in the head and realizes that he has absolutely no idea why he didn’t do that. It seems so obvious, now. “I don’t know.” Sun took the hint. Before Moon was able to finish his song, he pulled himself into sleep mode, finally relinquishing the hold he had on their shared resources. Moon visibly slumped with relief, his own anxiety lifting. He was much more comfortable in his makeshift tent, being buffered against the crashing storm, but more than that, it scratched a familiar itch to finally get his other half put down for his nap. Like fulfilling a deep purpose, he was more than calmed, he was satisfied. A bonus too, as a co-sleeping family, it has also really helped to teach our son about different sleeping spaces - he’s just upgraded to his own bed (next to mummy’s side of course!) but he understands that if he wants to come into big mouses (our) bed, he can! It’s made the transition that much easier :)This is a really sweet book about a fearful Little Mouse who shares a room with Big Mouse, listening to the various sounds of the quite night, howling of wind, hooting of an owl, tapping of branches and thinking instead that its ghosts, and other imaginary intruders. He asks Big Mouse if he can come to his bed but each time, the reluctant Big Mouse climbs out of his comfortable bed to reassure him that it’s not the case and thinks of a reason why Little Mouse cannot come to his bed. However, having done this for a number of times and finally when Little Mouse says he’s lonely the Big Mouse readily allows him to hop into bed. It’s a fantastic depiction of a young child’s fears ring true while Big Mouse’s patient explanations of comfort provide a forum through which children can safely explore their nighttime jitters. Sentence Fluency: There is rhythm and flow in repetition of words in this text as well as a use of words in which readers are not stopped to decode meaning. He could feel Sun pull away, like a wave ebbing from the shore, freeing up resources. Memory slots opened, closing open processes, relaxing.

Sun,> he growled, frustrated. But Sun wasn't paying attention, softly whimpering instead. Moon softened and hesitated, listening, feeling for his other half. <...Sun?> What’s wrong?” he asks immediately, grabbing Eddie’s arm and pulling him inside when Eddie doesn’t immediately step forwards on his own. It starts to rain. And it’s not a drizzle, either. Thunder rolls across the sky and lightning flashes and within seconds it’s pouring. The cold rain soaks Eddie to the core and for a few moments it actually feels good, because he’s definitely not sweating anymore. But then the coldness catches up to him and he starts shaking and he’s probably never been this cold in his whole life. He wants to sit down. He wants to crawl into his bed and fall asleep. He wants someone to wrap him in a blanket and pull him inside and hold him until he stops shivering.

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He very slowly strips out of his wet clothes and shoes, then dries himself off for a second, much more successful, time. Once he’s mostly dry, he sets about getting dressed. Moon paused for a moment, silently calculating, and drew himself up to full height. "2,378 open processes," he replied aloud.

He could feel Sun's confusion as he climbed inside, sealing the tent behind him. He took a seat cross-legged on the floor, lit by the gentle glow of the sun-ball in front of him. The tent was wide enough underneath that the both of them could fit together, if such a thing were possible, but only just tall enough that Moon had to sit a little slumped. Idea: The character and plot of this story is easy for children to connect with and have an interest in as it is a common problem for most youth to be scared at night.

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It hadn’t been dark when he had fallen asleep, he thinks, though he can’t really remember for sure. Anyway, it’s dark now but he’s awake and he feels even worse than he had before he’d fallen asleep, which he wouldn’t have thought was possible. His head feels weird and thinking is difficult. He should do something about this, but he’s in no condition to figure out what. I keep my threads tidy enough, thank you!> Sun replied stiffly, momentarily distracted out of his anxiety by the utter audacity. As if on cue, a bolt of lightning arced the sky outside and the thunder rattled the very floor of the Pizzaplex. Moon jumped, Sun shrieked, and it distracted him into a misstep on the landing; his ankle joint caught on his other foot and he tumbled forward, head over jingly heels, face first into the ball pit. He towels himself off to the best of his ability, but his clothes are so waterlogged and he’s so tired that it’s impossible for him to get fully dry. Eventually he gets too tired to keep standing and sinks down onto the closed lid of the toilet, where he halfheartedly dries off his hair.

There was a soft grumble of frustration somewhere deep internal. <...I'm too scared to go to sleep, Moony,> he replied, soft and timid. Yes. Right. Quiet. Warm. Restful.> Moon spread out his legs before lowering himself to the ground, gangly limbs curled up in the mound of clothes around the sun ball. Classroom Integration: This would be a great text to share in a writing workshop as it has a great sense of idea, theme, and flow. It may be a great way for students to reflect on how to tell a story about a particular emotion they have such as fear, which is displayed in this storybook. It would also be a great book to keep in the classroom library as it has vivid imagery that draws students in and utilizes their imagination. It seems like a text that would be reread by students and thought provoking. Probably not, if he’s honest. He still feels physically quite bad. He’s shivering ever so slightly and the achiness and exhaustion are absolutely bone-deep. But. He isn’t alone.Delightful story about a fearful little mouse who keeps hearing noises - “Sssh, what was that?!” - and is a great book to teach children that the noises you hear at night are usually harmless! It has a good repetitive dialogue which has helped our sons language skills, and the various sound effects which he loves joining in with - when the branch tap tap taps the window, that’s his cue to tap tap tap on our headboard! Just wait,> Moon mumbled, taking off on all fours toward the daycare's stash of costumes and supplies. Conventions: There is a lot of punctuation in this book used properly, which would help support a better understanding of the function of punctuation in writing. Genre Specific Characteristics: Story with a lot of imagination; a plot that is simple, clear and brief; illustrations portray the setting and establish a connection to the location, including time and place as well as creating a mood; the theme is related to a child’s understanding and helps them to deal with a problem situation; words are carefully selected to create vivid imagery and mood; elements of humor are mixed it to lighten the mood a little; animals that talk and act like people but still portray some traditional animal traits and setting.