"WHEN IT IS NIGHT, WHEN IT IS DAY"

by Jenny Tyers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996

In her first book, a talented Tasmanian printmaker creates a series of elegantly composed and richly colored etchings of nocturnal and diurnal creatures to illustrate the alternating cycles of activity and rest that occur in a 24-hour period. The animals, 20 in all, range from the common cat and mouse to the uncommon armadillo and warthog. The ""night"" and ""day"" portions of the book are bracketed by scenes of a llama and a hedgehog opening and closing their eyes. The text is minimal: ""When it is night,/the llama shuts its eyes./The wolf howls./The mouse skitters."" Tyers's artistic sophistication will probably appeal more to adults than to the picture-book set: The animal forms are so stylized (in some cases, even grotesque) as to confound children who still delight in literal representations of familiar forms. The choice of backgrounds and colors evokes many places and moods, leading fans of the artwork to hope for some future, fully developed story from Tyers rather than the portrait gallery in this book.

Pub Date: March 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1995

Categories: CHILDREN'S