A Strange Sound, by Olive Green, follows Terry the toad, a berry delivery driver who keeps hearing mysterious noises along her route: howls, whistles, snores, strange little word-sounds, and finally a roar. Each time she stops to investigate, the world around her seems full of possibilities, but no clear answer. The surprise, tucked among the berries in her trailer, is a small black puppy who has been riding along unnoticed. What begins as a playful sound-hunt turns into a gentle adoption story, with Terry naming the puppy Mazzy and realizing, almost at once, that she’s found someone to love.

The writing is sweet in a way that feels deliberately old-fashioned, with its rhymes, repeated phrases, and musical animal sounds. Some lines have a bouncy, bedtime-story charm, especially when Terry keeps deciding the noise “must be the wind,” even as the reader can feel something tender building underneath. I appreciated that the mystery never becomes too tense. Even the “scary” roar is softened by the warmth of Terry’s curiosity and concern.

The heart of this children’s book is its idea of unexpected belonging, and that’s what stayed with me most. Terry doesn’t need much explanation before her compassion takes over. She sees a little creature who is alone, small, and afraid, and her response is immediate and deeply emotional. That moment could have felt too sudden, but the artwork helps make it believable. Dainius Šukys fills the pages with odd, funny, lavish details: animals on scooters, clocks hanging from trees, a bear dodging bees, enormous berries, dreamy hills, and skies that shift from stormy drama to soft nighttime blue. The illustrations invite lingering. My child would absolutely stop me mid-page to point things out.

A Strange Sound is a tender, whimsical picture book with a big emotional center hiding inside a silly little mystery. I liked it most for its tenderness, its cozy strangeness, and the way it turns noise into connection. It is a lovely choice for children who enjoy animal stories, gentle suspense, rhyming read-alouds, and books about adoption, caregiving, or finding family in unexpected places.

Pages: 35 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GMS1RRZJ