Make a Joyful Noise

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.”

Listen for the sounds of worshiping and mirth.

Hear the trilling songs of birds in the trees,

The music of the wind, sighing in a breeze.

A joyful noise could be from the barking of a dog,

A chorus of cicadas, the croaking of a frog,

The purring of a cat, content to be alive,

The buzzing of bees, swarming in their hive.

Each individual makes their own joyful sound,

The gurgle of a baby, children laughing all around,

Singing in the shower, dancing in the rain,

Shouting, running, clapping, calling Jesus’ name.

Creation contains a myriad of joyful sounds everywhere

Which may be heard as music, rejoicing, worship or prayer.

Whatever the sound might be or however it is perceived,

All joyful noises made to the Lord are lovingly received.

© Connie Arnold

I thought this illustration from my Animal Sound Mix-up children's book was appropriate for this poem. It was done by Kit Grady. If you would like to see more of her illustrations, feel free to visit her website.

Fun with Animal Sounds

Hope you enjoy the fun of the mixed up animals!

Congratulations to Rena, the winner of a copy of A Wish and a Prayer by Beth Reinke from my previous post.

If you know of a little one who would enjoy it, Animal Sound Mix-up is available from Guardian Angel Publishing, Amazon or an autographed copy from my website.

Animal Fun Trivia

Since my children's book, Animal Sound Mix-up, is about animals and the sounds they make getting mixed up, I thought it would be fun to see what kind of animal trivia I could discover and share with you. Here are a few I didn't know about, did you? The illustrations are by Kit Grady and can be found in Animal Sound Mix-up.

Illustration © Kit Grady

• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, dogs only have about ten. 
• Roosters can't crow unless they can fully extend their necks. 
• A duck's quack doesn't echo.
• A dolphin's hearing is so acute it can pick up underwater sounds from fifteen miles away.
• Crickets hear through their knees.
• Giraffes don't have vocal cords. (I'm glad to know that one since no one I've asked has been able to come up with the sound a giraffe makes!)

Illustration © Kit Grady 

• The fingerprints of koala bears are almost indistinguishable from those of humans, enough that they could be confused at a crime scene.
• The bottom of a horse's hoof is called a frog. 
• A donkey's eyes are placed in its head so that it can see all four feet at all times.

 Illustration © Kit Grady

• Camels have three eyelids for protection from blowing sand.
• Kiwi birds are blind and hunt by smell. 
• When opossums are playing opossum, they aren't "playing" but actually pass out from sheer terror.
• An elephant can be pregnant for up to two years. Elephants walk on tip-toe because the back part of their feet is made up of all fat and has no bones.

 Illustration © Kit Grady

• The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world. 
• The bones of a pigeon weigh less than its feathers.
• Camel hair brushes are made from squirrel hair.
• Bees have to collect nectar from 2,000 flowers to make one tablespoonful of honey.

You can read these and many other bits of animal trivia on Animal Trivia and Useless Facts.

I don't think the animals in Animal Sound Mix-up know these facts either. They can't even get the sounds they make right! Do you know any other interesting animal facts?

Visit with Kit Grady, Illustrator

 It's my great pleasure to share with you a little about Kit Grady, the illustrator of Animal Sound Mix-up. I'm sure you'll agree with me that her illustrations are delightful, and it's interesting to learn what was involved in the artistic part of this book. Please be sure to leave your comments or any questions you might have for Kit, and enjoy!

Animal Sound Mix-up was a manuscript that when I saw it, I knew it could really be an enjoyable book to illustrate. What great creatures Connie had filled into this story with a wonderful message. I began my process of illustrating “Animal Sound Mix-up” by breaking up the manuscript, allowing for good flow and visual possibilities. I pulled out my sketch pad and began drawing. After several weeks and lots of drawing paper used, I scanned the art into my computer. I used Photoshop and my wacom tablet to work on the illustrations and do the coloring and tweaking. A couple of months later, I emailed the art  to the editor, Lynda Burch at Guardian Angel Publishing. She publishes in print and also ebooks which is a bonus in this ever changing world of publishing.

   

It was so much fun, yet there were challenging things like making  the illusion a deer honk, a bird oink, or having a bear baa. Animals are my favorite things to draw, so this book was a delight.

Connie and I conversed  a lot about  ideas and thoughts by email.  I haven’t met Connie in person yet, but since our imaginations seem to click in the same way I’m sure looking forward to meeting my author of “Animal Sound Mix-up.“

Thank you so much, Kit, and I'm really looking forward to meeting you as well. Here is one of Kit's illustrations from Animal Sound Mix-up, and you can see more of her art by visiting her website.

"What if when you went to the zoo,

all the monkeys were to moo?"

See the schedule for the rest of the tour and the prizes on the Blog Tour Begins post. Be sure to leave a comment to enter drawings for Amazon gift certificate and Animal Encyclopedia and let me know when you purchase a copy to enter the drawing for an animal ornament set. Animal Sound Mix-up can be purchased from Guardian Angel Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores.

Animal Sound Mix-Up

My first children's book, Animal Sound Mix-up, has just been published by Guardian Angel Publishing Company! Hope you'll visit there to see a couple of pages from it, and be sure to check out all the great books for children!

I think you will agree that the illustrations by Kit Grady are colorful and fantastic! There are many talented artists and authors at Guardian Angel Publishing, and I'm thankful to be a new angel among them.

I'll be sharing more fun poems soon and hope you will enjoy them!