fabulous children's book - darkly funny in true Irving fashion. My 2 1/2-year-old loves it.

I love this book. I was so excited to find out that this story from A Widow for One Year was made into an actual children's book. When I did, I purchased it immediately. There is something wonderful about this story. I love reading it aloud - it has a melodious rhythm. I keep this on my own personal book shelf and not with my young daughter's books. Not sure if this is something I would read to her or not. I think it is more enjoyable for an adult diehard Irving fan, like me, than for a child (could be a little too scary, although I am not convinced that I won't read it to my daughter one day).

Children's books aren't John Irving's natural medium, as he admits in the Introduction to A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound. A few of his adult novels are alternatively classified as young-adult, but John Irving built his reputation by writing nouveau classic literature, his era's answer to the likes of William Golding, John Steinbeck, Jack London, and Jonathan Swift. John Irving won major prizes ranging from the National Book Award to an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules, proving himself one of the more versatile writers of his day. He displays that versatility anew in this, his first picture book, though A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound wasn't meant to stand on its own when John Irving composed it for inclusion in one of his adult works, A Widow for One Year. The picture book was the brainchild of villainous character Ted Cole, a children's author with a predilection for the macabre, and it wasn't until a few years after the release of A Widow for One Year that Irving's German-language publisher proposed the idea of turning Ted Cole's story idea into a book in real life. A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound was thus born, and the great John Irving set foot in the unfamiliar realm of children's literature, a land I'm convinced every author should visit at least once over the course of their career.

Tom awakens amid darkest night to a scratching, crawling sound behind his bedroom wall, but his two-year-old brother Tim remains asleep. The ominous darkness of the immense house conceals any predatory beast that might be stalking him, but the sound from beyond the walls is Tom's first concern. He can only imagine its horrible source as he tiptoes through the house to roust his father from bed. Tom tells him about the sound and ventures a few guesses at its origin, ranging from a monster with no arms or legs, to a dress in his mother's closet come alive, wriggling off its hanger to terrorize Tom's family. The boy's runaway imagination settles down only when his father accompanies him back to bed to listen and discern what could be causing the mysterious ruckus. His father knows there's no monster living in the walls. The night proves to be an illuminating one for Tim and Tom, who forms an awareness of monsters himself and finds that he's not too small to repel them even at age two. A brave kid can stomp his foot and the hoo-ha's will scatter. After all, there's nothing bad in your bedroom walls for real...is there?

We humans have a way of growing our fears no matter our age; the only thing that changes is which monster we're afraid is hunting us. We enlarge our pet anxieties until they seem to dwarf us, though in reality they're usually no taller than a mouse, and just as timid. When we muster the courage to strike back at our fears, they scamper and run for home, and we wonder why we felt so afraid. It's not easy to stand up to the boogeymen that plague us, but it's the only way to evict them from our walls for good. If you're successful, you'll never have a peaceful night ruined by fear again...at least, not until you develop another anxiety that feeds on imagination to grow unduly large. But when that time comes, you can confront your fear the same way again.

The star power behind this book is almost all John Irving's, but Tatjana Hauptmann does most of the storytelling through her astonishing illustrations, some of the best I've seen in a picture book. The apparent unexplained movement of objects in the boys' bedroom, the semi-creepy objects themselves, and the dark, unexplored corners of the house conspire for a much more hair-raising tale than the text alone. The occasional full-page drawings are exquisite examples of high art in children's literature, worth the price of the book whether you care for John Irving's story or not. I can see why Tatjana Hauptmann was lauded internationally for her illustrating work before joining forces with John Irving. Fans of Irving's literature will appreciate A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound, and I enjoyed it, too. It's not A Prayer for Owen Meany or The Cider House Rules, but I'm glad I can say I've read a John Irving book.

I love the fact that he have written a book for kids.

My five year old already has too many nighttime fear issues to read this book, but I loved it! Delicious imagery and language.

I love that Irving wrote this book. My kids like it because it's a cool book; I like it because I feel like it's an inside joke, in way, that Irving wrote this really for his adult fans.

Okay, I don't usually read childrens' books, but John Irving wrote this one. I am a long-time fan of Irving and collect first editions of his books(some are worth a lot more than what I paid for them). My husband bought a signed copy of A Sound Like Someone... for me for Christmas. Irving rarely signs now, so this was special. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it. I guess I am just a kid at heart.