Product Description
For readers who love The Night Gardener, The Antlered Ship, and Emily Winfield Martin’s Dream Animals, this mythological, Sendak-inspired romp to the top of the world and back home again is a bedtime classic-in-the-making.
Where do children go when they drift off to sleep?
They float on a warm nighttime breeze over forests and peaks.
They tumble down a mountain carpeted in night blossoms.
They sail in silver ships over ribbons of moonlight,
and arrive at a shining pavilion at the very top of the world.
Now the Night Frolic can begin.
From acclaimed creators Julie Berry and Jaime Zollars, this exquisite, immersive bedtime fantasy will mesmerize dreamers young and old.
From School Library Journal
Gr 1–3—Unnamed siblings, a boy and a girl with brown skin and dark curly brown hair, take an imaginative journey as they tour a world inhabited by spectacular creatures inviting them into the fantastical world of sleep. Through the course of their night adventures the children encounter a welcoming tiger, enormous walrus, cheerful elephant, and old serpent. Silver ships transport them to various locations where they are joined by mythical creatures and a diverse group of happy children. They all converge, forming a large and loud parade, singing and playing musical instruments. Finally, a dolphin takes them home where they are tucked into bed. In the morning they are greeted by the enormous serpent looking into their window who poses the question, "Are you ready?" This open-ended resolution could be interpreted many ways and could lead to a stimulating discussion. The poetic text, full of rich vocabulary, seems meant to be read out loud. However, it lacks many of the elements of good storytelling. While there is a theme of sorts, both a plot and character development are nonexistent; the children's mouths are mostly agape when they are awake, and closed when they sleep. The otherwise breathtaking illustrations, created with graphite on vellum bristol paper and colored digitally, are detailed and invite thoughtful inspection. A comparison to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is obvious, although some of the darker images carry a Dante's "Inferno" vibe as well, which seems counterproductive in a bedtime book. VERDICT Whether for sleepy time or not, this is an additional purchase.—Lynne Stover
Review
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
"The brief, lyrical text offers a beguiling invitation to imagination... Zollars’ graphite and digitally colored illustrations, in luminous shades of pink, purple, and blue, are full of opulent details and swirling, kaleidoscopic movements. Downright magical, this is a picture book made for dreamers."―Booklist
"The high level of detail begs readers to study each image....A dream come true for readers seeking a new bedtime story."―Kirkus
"[A] beckoning, otherworldly flight of fancy...Berry’s mesmerizing prose sounds like a saga from another world, and this vision of journey, adventure, and happy clamor offers both antidote to and fodder for sleep’s dark mysteries."―Publishers Weekly
"The poetic text, full of rich vocabulary, seems meant to be read out loud.... breathtaking illustrations, created with graphite on vellum bristol paper and colored digitally, are detailed and invite thoughtful inspection."―School Library Journal
“Most magical bedtime book ever! Definitely feels like a classic to handsell again and again.”―Kepler’s Books (Menlo Park, CA)
“This magical bedtime book will make you want to curl up with a blanket and float on a nighttime breeze.”―Parnassus Books (Nashville, TN)
About the Author
Julie Berry is the author of Happy Right Now; Long Ago on a Silent Night; the Printz Honor novel The Passion of Dolssa; the Carnegie and Edgar-shortlisted All the Truth That's In Me; the New York Times bestselling Lovely War; and many other acclaimed books for young readers. She also owns an independent bookstore in her hometown. She lives in Western New York and invite
