Toddlers are no doubt familiar with the concepts of loud and quiet. But this book sharing may be a new experience for toddlers in considering whether a range of different sounds people and things make are quiet or loud. The book’s pairing of quiet and loud sounds can help strengthen toddlers’ awareness of volume differences. Watch toddlers’ expressions carefully to determine whether some of the illustrated sources of sounds need explanation, as suggested in Extra Support tips. The book’s illustrations are bold and engaging, but some images may be unclear to toddlers who have limited or no familiarity with the item.

Pointing to the words quiet and loud indirectly supports toddlers’ awareness of how print is different than a picture. This early awareness sets the stage for later understanding of how print works, a critically important literacy skill. Look for toddler interest in the book’s use of print, as suggested in an Enrichment tip.

Extra support

• For the illustration of a tortoise, explain that a tortoise is also called a turtle.
• For the illustration of thinking, point to your head and explain that thinking happens inside of our head. Encourage toddlers to point to their heads, too. Example: “Let’s all point to where thinking happens in our body.”

Enrichment

• Point out a print difference on the cover and other pages: The word LOUD is bigger than the word Quiet in our book.
• Our book says singing is loud. Can we also sing quietly?

Watch for possible “aha” moments in toddlers’ discussion of items and spaces that have no apparent sound, such as a plant, or no sound until they are used, such as a computer. There may be opportunities to engage toddlers in discussions that can refine their thinking about sound, including when sound can be heard in a space or from an item. Below are some examples of ideas that might emerge in toddlers’ exploration of items in your room:

• A playground is loud only when we use it.
• A crayon does not have a sound and is quiet when it is used.
• The sound of a drum can be quiet or loud depending on how hard we tap it.

These types of insights are the intent of the suggested question on how or why an item or space is quiet or loud. Also, you help set the stage for a closer look at loud and quiet sounds with the items and spaces you select to discuss. Toddlers will differ in their readiness to pursue more in-depth thinking about the broad categories of quiet and loud. Positively recognize different responses to the activity.

Extra support

• Emphasize that quiet and loud are sounds we hear. Point to your ears when you mention hearing. The suggested question of toddlers during your tour—Do we hear quiet or loud sounds when…—supports the idea that sound is something we hear.

Enrichment

• Bring the Quiet Loud book with you so you can point to pictures of items you select to talk about in your room. Examples: plant, drum, pillow. It is cognitively helpful for toddlers to connect a picture of an item to a similar actual object.