Quiet Wyatt


Written by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Arthur Howard
Published September 25, 2018

Why we chose this book:
Since T was 2, his dad has been telling him stories about a character named Quiet Wyatt. He is not the same as the title character, but this title sure caught my attention. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided a review copy.

Mom's Review

A little boy steps outside his comfort zone to follow his conscience.

Quiet Wyatt is about a little boy who prefers the quiet. On a school trip, he is paired with Noreen, the self-proclaimed "Queen of Nature," who is anything but that. Because this is fiction, we can laugh at her antics. Wyatt quietly suffers through her attempts to trail blaze (through poison ivy), paddle a canoe (and drench him), and cast a fishing line (and snare only Wyatt). From the illustrations, he seems uncomfortable, but does nothing. Finally, when Noreen precipitates a rock slide with her singing, Wyatt must speak up or see her injured. Until this point, Wyatt has remained inside his comfort-zone of "quiet," whether it has truly been comfortable or not. At this point, however, he finds his voice. Wyatt warns Noreen, saves her with his expert ninja moves, and finds a happy balance between quietly remaining unnoticed and interacting with a new friend. The final depiction of Wyatt shows a happy child who has remained true to his introvert personality while appreciating the company of another.

The infusion of humor to this presentation of an introvert coping with an extrovert sweetens the message that risk-taking can be a good thing. It is only through speaking loudly (the risk) that Wyatt saves Noreen (a good thing). This is uncomfortable for him, as has his entire day with Noreen. How do we deal with discomfort? When is it good? When is it bad? While Quiet Wyatt does not necessarily answer these questions directly, it does a good job of showing one child's experience. From that, readers can extrapolate how they might benefit from trying new things, engaging with different individuals, or not. Readers may also view Wyatt's initial passivity as a poor example of how to respond to another person's actions. Overall, Quiet Wyatt is a fun read with many possible points of more serious discussion.

Son's Review
a moderately successful attempt to
teach T the "shhh" signal

(Age: 3 and 1/2 years)

While reading:
Son: Some guys are going to be kicked out of the yimmy [museum].

Mom: Why?

Son: Because they are talking and they're not allowed to talk. See? It says, "Shh. Be quiet."
________________________
Son, in response to Noreen's "fishing": That's not how to cast a line!

After reading:
Mom: What doe you think about Quiet Wyatt? What's the best part?

Son: I really liked the story. I liked the part where she was taking them to poison ivy.

Mom: Would you want to be friends with Noreen or Wyatt? What would you do together?

Son: I would want to be friends with both of them. Um. do a field trip with them. Like where they goed when they did a field trip.

Mom: Do you have any advice for Noreen?

Son: I do. I would say, "Listen to what you say." In the story Noreen is not listening to what she says. She's not doing the proper thing that she says. Isn't that an uh-oh? She's leading them into the poison ivy and singing by the quiet rocks sign. Isn't that bad?

Mom: It certainly turns out bad. Are you like Wyatt at all?

Son: I think I might be because I'm so into poison ivy.
(We found some into our yard, and T is really into looking at it, pointing it out, and warning people away from it.)

Mom: Do you want to be like Wyatt in any way?

Son: Yeah. I want to stay quiet, but I don't know how. I'm like a chatterbox.
(So not the response I expected. I thought he'd want to learn ninja skills like Wyatt.)

Mom: Is there anything else?

Son: Not particularly.

Mom: Who is this a good book for?

Son: I would say it's a good book for D. because he has a friend named J. and Wyatt has a friend called Noreen. To learn what you do with a friend.

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