Bright in the Night

by Lena Sj berg

Overview

A beautifully illustrated, nonfiction picture book showing readers all the bright things that can be found in the dark of night.

When night falls, everything is dark. Or is it? The Moon shines with a pale light. A car drives along the street, and when its headlights flash, two bright dots run by. Is it a cat’s eyes? Or perhaps a fox’s? Stars twinkle in the night sky, and sometimes even the bright belt of the Milky Way is visible.

Come on a journey and visit the dark forest, the deep ocean, and the shadows of the city, and discover everything that glows, glitters, and shines in the night! This nonfiction picture book is full of fun facts about all the strange and wonderful sources of light on Earth and in the sky, from the Moon and the stars to glow-in-the-dark insects, luminous underwater creatures, lighthouses, fireworks, and phosphorescence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500652190
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	01/14/2020
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.70(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Lena Sjöberg is an award-winning author, illustrator, and visual artist. She has published numerous books for children, and was awarded the Elsa Beskow plaque for her book What If.

Editorial Reviews

"The invitingly open layouts are perfect for browsers…the thoughtful critical thinking questions about the future of manufactured and natural light will get kids thinking… Beautiful and enlightening."

Booklist

12/01/2019

Gr 1–5—The night sky may not always be visible due to city lights, but the moon, the stars, and the Milky Way can be seen in areas where there is little human interference. Each page discusses objects in the night sky, plants, animals, ocean creatures, and mysterious lights. Animal eyes appear to glow due to the reflective lenses in their eyes. Animals living deep in the ocean have lots of reasons to provide their own light. Even plants and bacteria have luminescent abilities. Some things can't be seen with the naked eye but can be seen using an ultraviolet light. The interior print is very small, and readers will need ample lighting to read the white text. The dark backgrounds contain plenty of room for numerous illustrations painted in glowing, bright colors. The final pages brighten as the night ends and the sun shines to start a new day. VERDICT Use this title as an overview of the topics, but additional sources will be needed for in-depth research. For students seeking science materials about the bizarre and strange, this book will fit the demand.—Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio

School Library Journal

2019-10-13
"When night falls, everything is dark. Or is it?"

In this Swedish import, Sjöberg suggests that viewers look again, and against pitch-black backdrops she casts sprays of stars and curtains of ionized northern (and southern) lights across night skies, glimmering fish and other marine creatures in shallow or deep-sea settings, lambent residents of otherwise lightless caves, fungi and even birds glowing eerily in ultraviolet light, and empty city streets faintly lit by windows and streetlights. Mainly she focuses on the natural world, presenting views of astronomical phenomena, ranks of fluorescent minerals, and dozens of biofluorescent or bioluminescent creatures. These include fire centipedes and certain shrimp that cast glowing nets of slime as a defense, the reflective eyes of cats and deer, puffins with UV-reactive beaks, luminous earthworms, toothy anglerfish, and, in the near future perhaps, glowing trees and textiles. Sjöberg occasionally plays fast and loose with facts—a star will last for a bit more than "thousands of years," and there actually is a natural explanation for swamp lights. As well, the survey presents readers with a visual challenge by presenting much of the narrative in tiny, dim type. Still, while feeding scientific interest, the author effectively makes a comforting point that for all its feeling of scary mystery, the dark is rarely, if ever, absolute.

An illuminating look at the dark's wonders, both informative and atmospheric. (afterword) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews