LITTLE NIGHT

Little Night hides and Mother Sky must find her behind the hills, in the bats’ cave and in the blueberry field. Then she can give Little Night a bath in falling stars, put her in a dress crocheted from clouds, feed her star milk from the Milky Way and pin Venus, Mercury and Jupiter in her hair. Only then can Little Night play with the moon. Morales creates a tale in the folk tradition, but keeps the fantasy grounded in the familiar routines of a little girl and her mother as they play their ritual games at bedtime. The only thing missing is a coda; at the end, the reader turns the page expecting some kind of conclusion, so it takes a minute to realize that Little Night bouncing her ball into the air is, in fact, the finale. The illustrations fill the double-page spreads as if they are pulled from left to right. Strong colors in reds, browns and dark blues with a sprinkling of starlight add to the mystical effect. Lovely. (Picture book. 3-6)