Grandpa’s Noises by Gareth St John Thomas and Colin Rowe

Grandpa’s Noises by Gareth St John Thomas and Colin Rowe

ISBN: 9781925335989

Published by EK Books

RRP: $24.99

Having someone in your life that makes all sorts of noises can be amusing and confusing. Luckily this noisy picture book is out in the world to help young children to see that all those noises are just a part of life and they can be deciphered with a little bit of thinking.

Gareth St John has not only told a gentle story but he has added many different sound words throughout the book to represent the sounds that come out of Grandpa throughout the day.

Children may be perplexed by Granpa when he says ‘Eyenolessgofurawark’ but they will certainly know what ‘Frurrupppttt’ means as it trails from Grandpa’s bottom.

Words and illustrations work together to tell this story, to show where the sounds come from and how they enter the world. Colin Rowe has made Grandpa come alive to show how doting and sweet he is to the temper he shows when splashed by a passing car.

We see how Grandpa talks to others he meets and the sounds as they come from different parts of his body. And readers will see his tone of voice and understand just how Grandpa feels as he makes the sound ‘Eeeaswoscrreech!’

Grandpa’s Noises is a fun book that will make children laugh and wonder. They will see the fun that can be had with words and how sometimes what we say may not spell how it really is supposed to!

Children will love reading Grandpa’s noises for the gentleness of who Grandpa is but also the silliness that they can have with all of the wonderful sounds he makes!

Teachers can use this book to inspire lessons in onomatopoeia and adding more depth to creating settings and loveable characters.

So what else can you do with this book?

  • Use this picture book to start talking about onomatopoeia and the noises we make every day.
  • Develop a character of a person the child knows well and the possible noises they make every day.
  • Look at the different portraits drawn of Grandpa on the front cover. Create some mini portraits of their own to show the different sounds people make throughout the day.
  • Write your own sound story using Grandpa’s noises as inspiration.

Testimonials – Jack and Jill Kindergarten, Berowra.

Testimonials - Jack and Jill Kindergarten, Berowra.

Thanks so much Vanessa for coming out and sharing your book “The Bee Detectives” with our children 3-5 years old. The experience allowed them to learn so much more about Bees. We have had our native Bees for several years and had beekeepers out before. Your book took an in-depth look into classification, different ways they live, how they collect pollen and make honey.  It created lots of meaningful conversation with the children; your interactive book reading allowed them to share these ideas with each other. The extended activity afterwards of the magnifiers provided by Vanessa was a great extension to the book. The children were so excited to be their very own Bee detectives and really extended their learning.

Vanessa Ryan-Rendall
2021-05-17T03:33:47+00:00

Testimonials - Jack and Jill Kindergarten, Berowra. Thanks so much Vanessa for coming out and sharing your book “The Bee Detectives” with our children 3-5 years old. The experience allowed them to learn so much more about Bees. We have had our native Bees for several years and had beekeepers out before. Your book took an in-depth look into classification, different ways they live, how they collect pollen and make honey.  It created lots of meaningful conversation with the children; your interactive book reading allowed them to share these ideas with each other. The extended activity afterwards of the magnifiers provided by Vanessa was a great extension to the book. The children were so excited to be their very own Bee detectives and really extended their learning.

Author Visit: Jack and Jill Kindergarten Berowra

Thanks so much Vanessa for coming out and sharing your book “The Bee Detectives” with our children 3-5 years old. The experience allowed them to learn so much more about Bees. We have had our native Bees for several years and had beekeepers out before. Your book took an in-depth look into classification, different ways they live, how they collect pollen and make honey.  It created lots of meaningful conversation with the children; your interactive book reading allowed them to share these ideas with each other. The extended activity afterwards of the magnifiers provided by Vanessa was a great extension to the book. The children were so excited to be their very own Bee detectives and really extended their learning. 

Teacher notes written by Vanessa
2021-04-21T02:54:08+00:00

Thanks so much Vanessa for coming out and sharing your book “The Bee Detectives” with our children 3-5 years old. The experience allowed them to learn so much more about Bees. We have had our native Bees for several years and had beekeepers out before. Your book took an in-depth look into classification, different ways they live, how they collect pollen and make honey.  It created lots of meaningful conversation with the children; your interactive book reading allowed them to share these ideas with each other. The extended activity afterwards of the magnifiers provided by Vanessa was a great extension to the book. The children were so excited to be their very own Bee detectives and really extended their learning. 


Georgie Donaghey

I was impressed with Vanessa’s professionalism in preparing the teacher notes for my picture book, In the Shadow of an Elephant. Her depth of knowledge on the multitude of topics covered was just incredible! She has compiled a 15-page document that will allow Educators and students an opportunity to explore conversations and discover different layers within the book.

Georgie Donaghey

Teacher notes written by Vanessa
2020-08-01T07:42:45+00:00

I was impressed with Vanessa’s professionalism in preparing the teacher notes for my picture book, In the Shadow of an Elephant. Her depth of knowledge on the multitude of topics covered was just incredible! She has compiled a 15-page document that will allow Educators and students an opportunity to explore conversations and discover different layers within the book. Georgie Donaghey