The Little French Whistle Library Binding – Bargain Price, March 12, 2002 by Carole Lexa Schaefer (Author), Emilie Chollat (Illustrator)
 
WHOUI! WHOUI! WHOUI! Louie blows on his brand-new whistle from Paree. It sounds important, snappy, and grand to Josette. But it scares the birds from the garden. Fonfon jumps up and yip-yaps away. And baby Roland starts to cry.

“Play it sweet, mon cher,” says Auntie Claire. “Can’t you blow soft?” asks Mama. “Zut alors!” cries Grand-père. “Non! Non! Non!” yells Louie. When he leaves in a huff without his whistle, Josette finally gets to give it a try. She blows it sweet for the birds: “Whoui. Tee-whoui.” She blows it soft for Fonfon: “Whhoui-ooo-whhouit.” She blows it soft and sweet for Sheba: “Brr-oui. Brr-oui.”

The birds twitter back. Fonfon comes dancing. And Sheba purrs to the music she makes. Then, maybe Josette will call a taxi—WHOUI! WHOUI! WHOUI!—and return
the little French whistle to Louie.
 
From School Library Journal
reschool-Grade 2--Josette's cousin Louie comes to visit, and it seems that his whistle, a gift from Grand-pere, only operates in one mode: a very loud "Whoui! Whoui! Whoui!" While Josette thinks this sounds important, others find it annoying. Louie scares away the birds, wakens the dog, startles his grandfather, makes the baby cry, and refuses to let his cousin have a turn. When he sneaks up and blows it loudly at the cat, she swats and hisses, and away the whistle flies. Though Josette offers to help retrieve it, he'd rather just go home. She finds it and explores the full range of its sounds. She blows it sweetly to the birds, softly for the cat, and musically for Grand-pere, who is reminded of the sounds of "Paree." Finally, she blows it loud and snappy like Louie, summoning a taxi to return the whistle to him. Josette is a good-natured, likable child, and is much more understanding of the obnoxious Louie than many readers will be. The brightly colored illustrations convey the emotions of the story. The text, filled with a variety of sounds and several French words, begs to be read aloud. Children will want their own little French whistle to play after hearing this story.
Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
 
 
6.13