Nighttime is the right time for young readers thanks to this perfect amalgamation of soothing text and image.
A cut-paper extravaganza welcomes young readers to the wonders of the nighttime.
The titular phrase “In the night garden” kicks off this exploration of a bedtime world. Indeed, those words repeat themselves several times as readers watch fireflies that resemble stars, the opening of perfumed moonflowers, and a black cat that acts as a guide through most of the book. Readers are led on a gentle journey past streams, crickets, and even bullfrogs croaking in the night before we see a tan-skinned child—depicted early on in the story gazing at stars—tucked into bed, yawning. Exceedingly delicate paper collages incorporate everything from ticket stubs and receipts to ledger books to make the darkness magical, the most impressive sight being the dramatically rendered harvest moon, all “fiery red” in the sky. Berger’s pen is just as adept as her scissors as she twists a turn of phrase into its simplest and most evocative form, as when “bats swoop and glide in the bluing sky.” Children are told not to fear when the light is gone or when they hear strange noises. “Just close your eyes and listen,” and young readers will do just that. Indeed, they’ll be unable to resist. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nighttime is the right time for young readers thanks to this perfect amalgamation of soothing text and image. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780823449866
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
Count on skipping this one in favor of a celebration of winter that has a more obvious storyline.
Even the sparkles on the cover may not be enough to redeem this wintry counting book, the author’s debut.
The almost nonexistent story loosely follows a snowboy as he adventures across the snowy landscape, meeting and playing with friends along the way and escaping from a fox who wants to eat his new rabbit pals. Numbers connect everything as the text counts from one to 10 and back down again in both numbers and numerals. This is a rhyming book, though the rhymes cross page turns: “One snowboy all alone. // Two children unaware. // Three ancient apple trees. // Four apples in the air.” This interrupts the rhythm, particularly for children who wish to linger over Wendy Wahman’s digital illustrations. Sharply defined, stylized shapes and flat, though vibrant, colors mark her distinctive illustrative style, but it may not be to everyone’s taste, with its flower-patterned fish, fixedly-smiling snow people and unkindness of unfriendly-looking ravens. The details that readers are likely to enjoy are often too small to see—the knitting spiders, for instance. Indeed, the tiny Photoshop illustrations will make this difficult to share with even small groups. Also, even the youngest of children may spot the gloves amid what should be the “Eight mittens in a row.”
Count on skipping this one in favor of a celebration of winter that has a more obvious storyline. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8732-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
Mixed-media illustrations feature cartoon owls with a variety of clothing and accessories. Extending across each double-page...
There's a party tonight at the old oak tree, and one, two, three, four, five dancing owls bathe, put on special shoes and hats, collect their instruments and climb up to join the fun.
Mixed-media illustrations feature cartoon owls with a variety of clothing and accessories. Extending across each double-page spread, they show each bird preparing and then joining the group. Appropriate numbers appear as the group enlarges. Drawn on natural brown paper with colored pencils and painted with gouache in trendy colors, some images show the owls’ cozy homes, and some feature a background of an evening sky fading from pink to purple to deep blue. On the last spread, the numbered owls are framed by lights as if on stage. Each of the rap-beat couplets that count off the owls is introduced with a separate explanatory line that stops the flow: "A party's not a party without a happy tune. / 3 cool owls have got the beat. / Now they're ready to hit the street." Adults who try to read the book aloud may find it hard going, although the repetition of the “Hootenanny, hootenanny” chorus between each segment will invite listeners to chant along. This jazzy offering doesn’t quite fit its audience. Even if familiar with folk festivals, children just old enough to begin to associate numbers with objects will find that easier to do without these elaborate extra details.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2273-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
