April’s Title Pick for Children: The Very Noisy House by Sally Nicholls

‘SQUEEEAK’ goes the garden gate, ‘RING RING’, ‘KNOCK KNOCK’, ‘DING DONG’ at the door. Readers are invited to pay a visit to The Very Noisy House, to see what they can see, but most importantly, notice what they can hear, in each and every room. This house, and indeed, this book, is alive with sound, colour, surprise and of course, NOISE!

There’s the ‘ROOTY-TOOT-ROOTY-TOOT’ of the music room, a seriously spooky cellar (‘BOO!’) and the most chaotic kitchen you’ve ever seen in the ‘VERY VERY VERY LOUD ROOM’. You can take some respite in the secret underground passageway (‘only very quiet sounds. Shhh!’) before venturing onwards on your Very Noisy journey. Many more booming and brilliant adventures are waiting to be found, each page opening a door to a new room to be explored.

Beautifully illustrated, this gorgeously colourful book truly captures the imagination and shows both the real-life and make-believe adventures that can be had within our own four walls. The lively sounds and noise, accompanied by the wonderful illustrations, make the book an immersive and sensory experience for the reader to step into.

Every page is warm and welcoming, making the reader feel very much at home; to kick off their shoes and be a part of the noise and the action. Everybody is invited to The Noisy House, and that’s what makes this book the perfect addition to the Reader’s 2026 children’s bookshelf entitled The Home We Carry.

For a littler audience of babies and toddlers, the bright colour and noisiness of this book is captivating and sure to grab their attention. For early readers, there are lots of sounds and wordplay that are lots of fun to grapple with. There’s intrigue and unexpected turns that would entertain older children, and the grown-ups might well find the loud-noised-madness of it all relatable in some way (I know I did!)

Full of joy, excitement and brimming with energy, our adventures in The Noisy House are drawn to a close in the peace and quiet of ‘Sleepytime’, with all the gently relaxing sounds of bedtime, ‘pitter patter’ of raindrops on the window, ‘crackle-crackle’ of the fireplace. After all that noisy fun, it’s time to ‘Zzzzzzz’.

By Frances Macmillan (Literature Engagement Lead at The Reader)