IF, ON A SUMMER'S NIGHT

A girl embarks on a magical nighttime journey filled with giggles and sweets in this debut children’s book.

Addie is nervous about her first night in her new home in the country, but soon talking fox Rosie Mean arrives with the promise of adventure: “All you need to do is eat your favorite cake, and we’ll be on our way.” At first hesitant to take treats from a stranger, Addie is soon persuaded to indulge. The treat shrinks her to a tiny size, and Rosie takes her on an odyssey full of delicious desserts, magical doors, ice skating in summer, and an ice boat race with magical woodland creatures. Too soon, it’s time for Addie to return to bed, but Rosie promises more escapades. Broken into chapters, the long sections of text are balanced by large, textured digital paintings from debut illustrator Darrow, a veteran artist. With an intermediate vocabulary in straightforward sentences, the work treads the line between chapter book and picture book. Darrow’s beautiful images portray a fanciful world with charismatic creatures whose appearances remain animal rather than human even when they’re sailing ice boats. Addie’s own features are always shown in nighttime silhouettes, only hinting at her ethnicity and coloration, allowing readers to imagine themselves reflected in her. Dwight’s text evokes Narnia and Wonderland without the conflicts or dangerous sides of either fantasy, making Addie’s engaging tale appropriate for calm, bedtime reading.

An enjoyable, gorgeously illustrated, whimsy-heavy adventure.