The Best Sound in the World

Roy, the little lion playing violin, travels the world to collect sounds in bottles. But which one is the best in the world?
What I really loved about this book - which addresses pre-school children - is how it outlines the fact that everything around us is sound and we just have to listen to the music of this surrounding. It makes children - and adults too - more receptive and aware not only of what it moves but also about the music of our environment.
Not impressed about the illustrations though.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is about a little lion who is a musician and doesn't like to be interrupted and wants to play alone. He goes off in search of the perfect sound to play with his violin and collects many different sounds.
Upon going home he finds none of them are quite right and then realises the neighbour he found annoying was actually a great support to him and his music and he finally becomes friends with him and they share their love of music together.
A cute book with a concept some children will understand about friendship but others may not get unless it is explained to them. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a lovely story and beautifully illustrated.

This is a joyous book full of friendship and heart. Roy is desperate to be a musician and starts collecting beautiful sounds from around the world. His friend Jemmy can be very distracting and annoying so Roy travels alone to collect his sounds.
As the reader, we can see that Jemmy has tagged along but seems to be giving Roy the space he needs.
Roy ends up feeling even lonelier on his travels and makes his way home. Arriving home, Roy realises that Jemmy has been with him the whole time and he sees just how good a friend Jemmy is.
They spend time together gathering sounds and selling favourite sounds to people in their town.

This is a wonderful book expressing the importance of friendship and acceptance.

This is an absolutely beautiful book with a delightful story and the most charming illustrations.
I teach English as a foreign language, and for my littlest students that involves lots of storytelling and activities around the themes of the story. I can see this adorable tale quickly becoming a firm favourite. Roy the lion's determination and creativity is a great message for little ones, and parents, teachers and kids will have lots of fun recreating the sounds throughout the book with their voices, or with things they find around the house or garden.
I had the chance to read a preview copy of the book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, and I will be keeping an eye out for this one when it comes out!!

An attractive book that offers a slightly unconventional approach to conveying friendship and cooperation. A violin-playing lion and his well-meaning, if slightly annoying, lemur neighbour disagree as to how much joining in should be allowed when the best sound in the world is being sought. I liked the artworks, although their rough and ready hand-done qualities might not be to the taste of all young readers, and nor might the slightly elusive message, but to the right audience this should be fine. Three and a half stars.

I thought that this story was ok but I think it would be a little confusing for a child if they read it on their own the first time.

The images were nice but I would have prefered them a bit sharper.

The layout was good it was just a little lacking overall for me in the execution to make it a really good story and to give it anything above three stars sadly.

I think this picture book is supposed to be about friendship.

And that is odd, for me to not quite understand the point of a picture book, as the whole point of them is that they are clear, even for little kids. So, if I can't quite get what the point is, or what the story is even about, then think about the poor kids.

It looks as though it is trying to say that the best sound is the sound of a friend?

Or that you can't hear beautiful sound without a friend?

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Or that it is best to stay home?

You got me.

And at some point Roy loses his violin, and Jemmy, who has been following him, finds it.

Again, not sure what this means, either.

So, either this is a book about friendship, or beautiful sounds, or perhaps don't leave your violin on the ground. Who knows.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The story is about friendship and how we sometimes take friends for granted. It centers around Roy and his love for music. I would have liked an extra page or two at the climax where Roy was looking for his violin. I absolutely adore the illustrations! They are fun and enchanting. This book is perfect for young ones!

A charming little book about friendship and all the amazing sounds of the world. I really enjoyed this book and think it would be an engaging story for children, along with the uniquely beautiful illustrations!

A playful journey through sound and a story about friendship, this book is a decent read - not great but I think it could lead to interesting conversations with kids.

A wonderful, whimsical, lavishly-illustrated wonderland of friendship and music and exploration. Perfect for little readers and their friends.

A cute story about finding the beauty in the sounds of nature. It teaches that music isn't meant to be alone but to be shared with others and that music can bring people together.

Roy is a lion, a very serious musician, and a sound catcher. Music is his most favourite thing in the world, played lovingly on his violin.

Next door to Roy lives Jemmy, a lemur, who also loves music. Jemmy expresses himself through dance, clapping and singing along. Now you think the two would get along with the love of music binding them together but that is not the case.

Jemmy is an annoyance to Roy and one day Roy decides to brush the pesky lemur off and goes travelling the world to find the best sound that will inspire his love of music even more if that's possible. He catches the "clip-plop" sound of the rain in the forest, he climbs high into the mountains and captures the twitter-tweet of the birds and is then off into the desert where he collects the whistling wind, just to name a few. These grand discoveries should make him happy right? Wrong. Roy becomes confused because everyone has a different opinion of what the best sound is and finally he has had enough and heads for home. What he discovers at home changes his way of thinking forever and Jemmy is a huge part of that transformation. Roy finally realizes that there's no place like home and that his happiness was right under his nose all along.

This charming debut book explores the value of friendship and the lovely illustrations enrich the text greatly. The illustrator cleverly tucks Jemmy into the illustrations she creates so you can locate him and know that Jemmy has been with Roy all along his journey. That certainly is a fun component to have embedded in the book. I highly recommend "The Best Sound in the World".

Review of Digital Galley

Roy is a music-loving lion living in the big city. He spends hours collecting various noises and putting them in bottles. But when he tries to copy those sounds on his violin, he does not believe that any of them are quite beautiful enough.

Jemmy the Lemur lives next door and whenever Roy plays his music, Jemmy is there dancing, clapping, and singing along. Roy, who yearns to be a great musician, finds Jemmy’s dancing and clapping and singing very distracting.

So Roy leaves the city and, traveling alone, goes in search of the most beautiful sound, for he believes that he must find beautiful sounds if he is to be a famous musician.

What will Roy find on his search? And what special thing will Jemmy teach Roy?

The soft colors of this charmingly-illustrated picture book, created in gouache, colored pencil, and ink, are a perfect accompaniment for this thoughtful story that is sure to be a favorite with both young readers and their parents. Its gentle look at the varied wonders of the world, its celebration of the joy of music, and its warm-hearted homage to friendship will surely touch the hearts of all readers. Don’t miss this one.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this digital eBook from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley
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