LAST NIGHT

In this intimate wordless volume, a naughty little girl is sent to her room and soon falls fast asleep. As she slumbers, her teddy bear grows to life-size, and when she wakes he beckons her out into the moonlit night. Together, they frolic with a lion and foxes, but as the animals grow more raucous, the girl becomes emotionally removed. Showing signs of remorse, she huddles away from the bear. In the morning, the young protagonist finds herself—and her toy bear—safe in her own room. Down the stairs and into her mother’s arms, she is happy and content at last. Both plot and the main character’s emotional arc are in direct parallel to Where the Wild Things Are, but where Sendak’s beloved book captured the exuberance of the 1960s, Yum’s interpretation is more sober. Her linocut illustrations, done in a muted palette and printed with a grainy texture, have a raw quality; each image captures a narrative beat. With its striking compositions and hauntingly lovely endpapers, Yum’s work is a somber reworking of a classic. (Picture book. 5-8)