NIGHT LIGHTS

For this family of three—mother, daughter and pup—the everyday events of an evening take on special meaning in this debut author/illustrator’s capable hands. A single word or two describing the lights that brighten the night determine each page’s action. A streetlight illuminates the darkened cityscape as mother and child cycle home; firelight makes for a cozy backyard BBQ; a flashlight produces a shadow-puppet play. Gal cleverly weaves these intimate moments together to create a seamless bedtime story. The illustrations, done with a heavy oil crayon or chalk pastel–type texture in combination with cut and pasted photographic elements, are infused with an inviting warmth. Reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats, for the atmospheric collage work, and Margaret Bloy Graham, with a pooch that could double for Harry (whose story the girl reads in bed with her dog), the images manage to be both fresh and familiar. The many warm renderings of light—the glow from a reading light, the comfort of the night-light and the peacefulness of the moonlight—reveal the loveliness of a night spent with an affectionate family. (Picture book. 3-6)