Still Noisy After All These Years

NOISY NORA, written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells ($15.99, hardcover; $6.99, paperback, Viking, ages 1-5), is a tried and true classic according to guest reviewer Lindy Michaels of BookStar on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City.

What in blazes does it take to get a little attention from one’s parents when one has two needy siblings? That’s what little mousy Nora wonders. No, she’s not actually ‘mousy.’ She IS a mouse! “Jack had dinner early. Father played with Kate. Jack needed burping and Nora had to wait.” But Nora certainly did not go quietly into that good night.

“First she banged the window, then she slammed the door. Then she dropped her sister’s marbles on the kitchen floor.” This is what highly paid child psychologists like to call “getting negative attention,” big time. Sound familiar, mommies and daddies with multiple little ones? What could it possibly take for Nora to get any kind of attention, positive or negative? Here’s a hint. There’s a mad search and then, wait for it… a “monumental crash!”

All I can say, good children, everywhere, is please don’t try this at home. I’ve been reading NOISY NORA to little tykes since it was first published in 1973 and I never tire of telling this tale, nor laughing at adorable, albeit, noisy Nora’s antics, as she tries everything in her power just to get noticed. And trust me, get noticed she does!

The very versatile Lindy Michaels aims to inspire young minds through children’s literature. Lindy owned L.A.’s first children’s bookshop, OF BOOKS AND SUCH (1972-1987) where she did storytelling, taught drama to children, had art and poetry contests and the like. According to Lindy, “It was truly a ‘land of enchantment.” She also spent years lecturing on realism in children’s literature at colleges in the state. For close to five years Lindy has worked in Studio City for Barnes and Noble (BookStar) in the children’s section and does storytelling every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.