Teal, Val and Lawson, Robert. The Little Woman Wanted Noise24 September 2013 by NYR Children's Collection
(First published 1 January 1943)
Copy recieved from the publisher
The woman in the title has lived all of her life in the city and enjoys the vintage noises there, so when she inherits a farmhouse from a relative inexplicably moving to Australia, she tries to fill the farm with a variety of noisy animals. Even that is not enough, but she eventually decides that having boisterous boys around will make the farm loud enough and give her peace of mind.
Strengths: I'm a huge fan of Robert Lawson's illustrations, so this was a true gem in that regard. My teenage children were able to connect this with The Story of Ferdinand, one of our favorites, and read the book eagerly. I'd love to read Teal's 1940s memoir about motherhood, It Was Not What I Expected, if I could find a copy.
Weaknesses: Future Target Demographic, the six-year-old son of a former student, had absolutely no interest in this one. The illustrative style is much different than what is currently in fashion. This will add to the appeal for lovers of vintage picture books, but might not make these popular with the actual target demographic.
The New York Reviews Children's Collection has a number of titles available. I bought a copy of Sharp's The Rescuers, which is lovely. Some of the titles are a bit obscure (Junket is Nice would not fly with many three year olds), but it's nice to have them available.
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