Dianne White

The darkness of night unfolds into the scene of a small adventure and invites as a bedtime read.

When the family dog wanders off in the evening and the three children can't find him anywhere, they grab a flashlight and head out to find him. But the puppy isn't the only thing they discover as nature settles into nighttime.

This book is written with lovely, poetic form, which flows smoothly and invites to lean back and enjoy the verbal scenes. Each phrase only holds a few words, and the author has made sure to keep the vocabulary very age appropriate. It's beautifully woven (as in adults will enjoy the poetry) without alienating young listeners.

The illustrations are cleverly done. Not only are these also well-done from the plain, artistic stand-point (and beautiful), but they take care to show that nighttime doesn't mean black and white. Instead, shades and colors fitting to the scenes create a natural and inviting atmosphere. This makes nighttime more inviting and awakens curiosity. There are animals and surprises hidden here and there as the single beam from the flashlight lightens up areas here and there. I would have wished there was more going on as some moments rang a little monotone, but this does invite to calming down and heading into those sleepy hours.

This is a lovely bedtime read, which relaxes, calms fears of the dark, and might have young listeners wanting to head out on their own nighttime adventure soon. I received a complimentary copy and found this to be a lovely, bedtime read.… (més)

A picture book in which the rhyming text takes the form of a mama bear trying to convince her cub that it's time to hibernate for winter. The cub doesn't want to go to sleep and points out all the other animals that seem to still be up and about. The mother explains how they are all settling in for winter, too, and the illustrations (which are what I would call realism-tinged cartoonish) show all the various burrow, nests, and hidey-holes of the various animals. The text is fine, but the illustrations are just lovely. This will be heading off to my youngest niece for Christmas.… (més)