Mrs Noah's Song - by Jackie Morris (Hardcover)

About the Book

A beautiful new picture book in the bestselling Mrs Noah series, in which Mrs Noah brings song back into the world and shows the children how to listen - and sing. Mrs Noah sang to the children when they woke in the morning. She sang as she worked in the garden, growing flowers and growing food. She sang lullabies at night to help the children sail into sleep. "If you want to learn to sing," Mrs Noah tells the children, "first you must learn how to listen. Close your eyes, tight shut, and open your ears, wide, wide." At first the children hear only silence, then birds call, bees hum - and they hear the song of the garden. That night, Mr Noah makes a surprise present for the family so that they can all sleep together out in the garden. Then, at dawn there's the best surprise of all - the magical sound of the dawn chorus, led by the phoenix. On a joyful new day, Mrs Noah's birthday, there is birdsong in the garden and a future full of shared song for Mr and Mrs Noah and the children.

Book Synopsis

A beautiful new picture book from an incredible picture book team, in which Mrs Noah brings song back into the world and shows the children how to listen - and sing

Mrs Noah sang to the children when they woke in the morning.
She sang as she worked in the garden, growing flowers and growing food.
She sang lullabies at night to help the children sail into sleep

"If you want to learn to sing," Mrs Noah tells the children, "first you must learn how to listen. Close your eyes, tight shut, and open your ears, wide, wide." At first the children hear only silence, then birds call, bees hum - and they hear the song of the garden. That night, Mr Noah makes a surprise present for the family so that they can all sleep together out in the garden. Then, at dawn there's the best surprise of all - the magical sound of the dawn chorus, led by the phoenix. On a joyful new day, Mrs Noah's birthday, there is birdsong in the garden and a future full of shared song for Mr and Mrs Noah and the children.

Review Quotes

A sweet story of family, perfect for bedtime -- Booklist

"Mayhew's flowing, vivid mixed-media illustrations give the book a warm texture all its own...a beautiful and necessary parable for our time."-Kirkus Reviews on Mrs Noah's Pockets

"[Mrs Noah] never wavers in her moral resolve, and her cleverness and compassion shine in this sly secular reimagining." - Publishers Weekly starred review on Mrs Noah's Pockets

"Marrying Jackie Morris's words with James Mayhew's richly textured illustrations, this book is fabulous in all particulars, from its duped patriarch believing that his wife is sewing curtains rather than secret pockets for centaurs, to it endpapers, full of wild waters and gambolling fantastic beasts." - The Guardian on Mrs Noah's Pockets

"An alternative approach to the story of Noah in which Mrs Noah is foregrounded and magical beasts survived the flood. Mayhew's colourful, naive images using collage show the celebratory garden she makes, filling it with love for her family." - The Sunday Times on Mrs Noah's Garden

"Picture-book lovers will delight in the gentle, transformative hopefulness of Mrs Noah's Garden." - Times Literary Supplement on Mrs Noah's Garden

About the Author

James Mayhew is the creator of many bestselling picture books, including Once Upon a Tune: Stories from the Orchestra, published by Otter-Barry Books. He is a winner of The New York Times book illustration award and numerous other prizes. James lives in Suffolk.

Jackie Morris is the bestselling author and illustrator, photographer and painter who created the international bestseller, The Lost Words, winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019, with Robert Macfarlane. Her books for Otter-Barry Books include One Cheetah, One Cherry, The Seal Children, The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes and, with James Mayhew, Can You See a Little Bear?, Mrs Noah's Pockets and Mrs Noah's Garden. She lives in Pembrokeshire.