The Louds Move In

As I write this, Steve is apartment hunting in L.A. and I know that he will find just the right place for our family to move into. Yesterday he called and said he had found a cute place... EXCEPT that it was upstairs from an old lady. That won't do (our 6 year old son likes to stomp and jump and run) unless............ we do as the "Louds" do!

My fave children's librarian, Sarah gave me the big thumbs up at checkout for The LOUDS Move In. She said to be sure to read it in my best Jersey accent ( oooo I wish Steve were here:)

I read that the author, Carolyn Crimi got the brilliant idea to write this book after hearing a very LOUD family of four choosing a movie at Blockbuster. She thought "Oh my gosh, I am so glad I don't live next to that LOUD family."

All the neighbors on Earmuffle Ave. engage in silent, solitary hobbies (pin cushion collecting, watching a goldfish ...) and hardly speak to one another. When the Loud family moves in, they are friendly and welcoming as well as loud, funny and a little chaotic.

The quiet neighbors start off disliking the Louds, asking them to leave and then come to miss the family and their friendliness when they are away. When the Louds return, they are happily welcomed back.

The neighbors change of heart brings a nice ending to the book and is very heartwarming.

Regan Dunnick's illustrations capture the emotional feel of the characters with the Loud family's happy, wide, open mouths and the quiet neighbors with closed mouths -until the end.

This is a fun, feel-good book about reaching out to accept and appreciate others and letting a little bit of noisy friendship into your life. I hope it will encourage young readers to keep an open mind about others and not to prejudge.

I also hope our new neighbors will be kind and accepting.