When the Library Lights Go Out

by Megan McDonald, Katherine Tillotson (Illustrator)

Overview

When the library lights go out, that means it’s time for three story-hour puppets to begin their adventures! At first only Rabbit and Lion come out to play and explore their library home. But where is their friend Hermit Crab? Where could she be in the library darkness? In this charming story, come along with Rabbit, Lion, and Hermit Crab as they play, draw, and explore their way through the library—and find out what really happens when the library lights go out!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416980285
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/05/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 11.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Megan McDonald, beloved author of the Judy Moody books, is also a gifted storyteller. She is the author of When the Library Lights Go Out, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson; The Hinky-Pink, illustrated by Brian Floca; and the now-classic Is This a House for Hermit Crab?, illustrated by S.D. Schindler. She lives in Sebastopol, California.

Katherine Tillotson is the illustrator of several children’s books, including All Ears, All Eyes; All the Water in the World; Shoe Dog; and It’s Picture Day Today!. Ms. Tillotson lives in San Francisco with her husband. Visit her at KatherineTillotson.com.

Editorial Reviews

After-hours in a library transforms into a magical time as the story puppets become animated. When Rabbit discovers Hermit Crab missing from their communal box, he coaxes sleepy Lion to help find him. The duo searches the library with the aid of maps, skirts dastardly giants and enjoys a "found" picnic harvested from the garbage bins. As Lion and Rabbit explore, ordinary objects become extraordinary pathways to adventure. There is a fluid interplay between the text and artwork. Tillotson's oil paintings expand upon the imaginative flights of fancy; everyday items cast appropriately eerie shadows through clever manipulations of their placement. She also reveals the practical origins of Rabbit and Lion's grandiose imaginings; a starry night sky turns out to be children's names written on suspended star cut-outs, etc. While obviously the size and format of a traditional picture book, the story is broken into titled segments and reads more like a truncated first-chapter book. Slightly challenging as a read-aloud for younger preschoolers, the tale is ideally suited for shared story time with an older audience. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews