As Night Falls
Creatures That Go Wild After Dark
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOK • This picture book is for the littlest nature aficionado. Bursting with vibrant illustrations, it offers an inviting look into the secret world of how nature goes BERSERK at night!
As night falls. The earth cools. Waters calm. Winds hush…
But outside, night time is action time for some.
Silly action. Hungry action. Wild action.
From microscopic organisms to giant cats, it's surprising who you'll find awake in the middle of the night! Dinoflagellates guzzle floating bacteria, bumblebee bats loop and swoop, racer snakes slither, weasels sneak and circle, and spot-bellied eagle owls leap and sweep. One by one, the animals of the food chain find their next scrumptious treat.
For children whose curiosity abounds, and restless sleepers greedy for one more story or one more goodnight kiss, this distinctive picture book with a science focus gives a peek at the animals that come alive at night. The striking words of Donna Jo Napoli join the electric and wild illustrations of acclaimed artist Felicita Sala to make this the perfect picture book to help young readers get out all their wiggles and giggles before bed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Napoli works a lively lesson on food chains into this raucous bedtime bestiary linking a child's nighttime restlessness to the "Silly action/ Hungry action/ Wild action" that occurs outside "as night falls." Though some children "nestle sweetly into sleep," others' thoughts race, "and they aren't alone." Out of doors, "the mini go ballistic" as luminescent dinoflagellates become prey to copepods, which are in turn gobbled by goby fish. As the chain continues, "the big ones go berserk." Bat-nomming racer snakes become the prey of weasels eaten by jackals and so on, up to an apex predator: a full-bellied tiger fearsomely licking its chops ("Tigers eat whatever they want"). Napoli's alliterative prose snaps like the jaws of its subjects as they "snicker snack," while paintings by Sala employ vivid hues and psychedelic scenes of animals, mouths wide open, as they hunt and munch. In a clever concluding twist, the narrative comes full circle, proposing a way that little insomniacs might tame their own inner fierceness at bedtime. More about included creatures concludes. Ages 4–8.
