Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Farts Make Noise is the second book in the Duke the Deaf Dog (ASL Series) written by Kelly Brakenhoff and illustrated by Theresa Murray. Duke is a Deaf dog who attends public school. During breakfast, at school, and during leisurely activities, Duke learns from his friends and family that in some situations, noise occurs when it should not. At the breakfast table, in a cinema during a film, in the classroom, hearing people are quickly distracted by noise which would otherwise not distract a Deaf person at all. All of these rules of proper etiquette need to be learned by both Deaf and hearing people alike.

As a Deaf reader, it always feels good to read books such as Farts Make Noise, as it teaches both Deaf and hearing about acceptable behavior. When we are only in the company of our Deaf friends, we tend to be quite animated and loud when interacting in ASL, but hearing people tend to find this rather unbecoming. With each lesson that Farts Make Noise delivers, I felt a special joy in my heart not to read any audist language whatsoever (such as hearing-impaired) and the tale definitely embraced the everyday lives of not only the hearing but also those of us who are Deaf. I applaud Kelly Brakenhoff for a Deaf-friendly tale that teaches good manners to all of us, regardless of who we are. I would even go so far as to call this a “safe space” book as it does not look upon us (Deaf folks) as being inadequate or broken. I fully recommend Farts Make Noise to readers of all ages, and look forward to reading the rest of the Duke the Deaf Dog (ASL Series) tales.