TEN FLASHING FIREFLIES

by Philemon Sturges ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1995

Don't use the ""e"" word (ecology) on this nighttime reverie. Into the gloaming go two children, intent on gathering an ensemble of fireflies. One, two, three, four . . . their quarry mounts to ten, flashing bright in their glass cage. When the children retire for the night, they find that the fireflies are ""Blinking so slowly in our jar."" Off comes the lid and the fireflies escape into the night, dazzling again. Sturges's text counts up and back, a liturgical melodiousness in its pleasant, repetitive fashioning. The story is entirely at home in Vojtech's dreamy, nocturnal watercolors, the fireflies radiating just the right amount of magical incandescence. There is a summer's insouciance to the illustrations, which show warm, rich colors coaxed from the darkling landscape: The bright windows add a secure note, the shadowy silhouettes of the pine woods a touch of menace. If the message regarding freedom and caring is well trod, it's all for the best; a message like this bears repeating. A book quietly luminous as its subject.

Pub Date: May 1, 1995

ISBN: 1558586741

Page Count: 32

Publisher: North-South

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995

Categories: CHILDREN'S