THE JOURNEY OF CLEMENTINE

A firefly finds others of her kind, with help from a kindly youngster with a lantern.

Red-headed, big-eyed Clementine was “born” some distance away from a field densely populated with other fireflies. She looks for but doesn’t see “other glowing specks of light like herself.” She tells a curious moth and grasshopper that she doesn’t know what kind of insect she is. “Maybe,” she speculates, she came from the moon, since she gives off light just like it does. Meanwhile, a light-skinned young girl leaves her house to get a closer look at the flickering lights on a hill. When a hungry bat swoops in to make a meal out of Clementine, the light of the child’s lantern frightens the predator away. Firefly and girl “[gaze] into each other’s eyes, and a tender friendship [lights] up their hearts.” The deep-blue background, the light of the moon, night-blooming jasmine blossoms, and the field full of fireflies are pretty, though many of the characters have a fairly generic, wide-eyed look. The narrative, translated from Italian, is filled with sweet sentiments. As an outdoor adventure, however, it’s slight, lacking enough specificity to be a strong nature story; it’s also low on tension or conflict, making for a less-than-satisfying friendship tale.

A few charming ingredients imperfectly blended.