Red Sky at Night

by Elly Mackay

Overview

A memorable collection of weather sayings, beautifully arranged in story form and illustrated by renowned paper artist Elly MacKay.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight. And, the next morning, when the dew is on the grass, no rain will come to pass. These are the perfect conditions for a grandfather to take his grandchildren out on a fishing trip. Especially since, as the saying goes, when the wind is from the West, then the fishes bite the best. The family takes a boat out on the lake, fishing and swimming and eventually camping out on a nearby island, taking full advantage of the gorgeous weather. But the next day . . . red sky in the morning, sailors take warning! The family ventures back home just in time to avoid a rainstorm. But not to worry -- the more rain, the more rest. Fair weather's not always best.

Acclaimed paper artist Elly MacKay illustrates a lovely family narrative through the use of weather aphorisms, creating a beautiful and informational story which will appeal to children's timeless fascination with the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101917831
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	997,161
Product dimensions:	11.70(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

ELLY MACKAY is a paper artist and a children's book author and illustrator. She wrote and illustrated the picture books If You Hold a Seed, Shadow Chasers and Butterfly Park, among others. She studied illustration and printmaking at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Her distinctive pieces are made using paper and ink, and then are set into a miniature theatre and photographed, giving them their unique three-dimensional quality. Elly lives in Owen Sound, Ontario, with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

…beautifully designed…[MacKay's] old-fashioned approach to weather is oddly reassuring.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

03/19/2018
MacKay (Waltz of the Snowflakes) once again relies on inventive, diorama-style artwork to create a moving story. Here, she pairs rhyming folk wisdom about the weather with glowing spreads that follow a boy and a girl on an overnight adventure with their grandfather, first fishing from a boat, then camping by a roaring fire, and finally running home just before a storm breaks. Each scene is an atmospheric photograph of a miniature, three-dimensional set that MacKay has created from ink drawings and cut-paper figures. The subject of weather’s forces and intriguing visual perspectives, such as a view above and below the water’s surface, invite wonder about the natural world. The meaning in a few couplets is fuzzy, but the loving, multiethnic family at the center of this gentle intergenerational outing offers a strong focal point for a unique introduction to weather concepts. Ages 3−7. (May)

Publishers Weekly

One of New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2018
One of Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Book Covers of 2018
Considered for one of Horn Book’s CaldeNott Honour Books 2019

PRAISE FOR Red Sky at Night:

"With MacKay’s dreamy cut-paper collage art featuring two siblings exploring outdoors, the old-fashioned approach to weather is oddly reassuring." --New York Times

"[T]his makes a perfect fit for primary weather units." --Starred Review, Booklist

"A curated collection of old-timey weather sayings is artfully brought to life in this exquisite informational picture book." --Starred Review, Quill & Quire

"Distinctive, luminous illustrations delight the eye." --Kirkus Reviews

"MacKay . . . once again relies on inventive, diorama-style artwork to create a moving story." --Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful resource for nature lovers and for any classroom, especially for art and science curricula." --School Library Journal

"[T]his transfixing picture book will teach something new to cloud-watchers everywhere." --BookPage

"[A] clever picture book. . . . Budding and amateur meteorologists will enjoy this title, as will Canadian adults and children alike. . . . Highly Recommended." --CM Magazine

"A memorable collection of weather sayings, beautifully arranged in story form and illustrated by renowned paper artist Elly MacKay.” --The Avidly

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
K-Gr 3—A father spends time with his children, teaching them how to predict the weather by watching for clues from the world around them. This is a picture book of concise weather-related sayings and idioms. Each couplet is full of wisdom and gives practical advice on what to be aware of in our surroundings, such as "When the dew is on the grass, no rain will come to pass" and "When ladybugs swarm, expect a day that's warm." At the book's end, a resourceful section explains each saying in detail. MacKay's meticulously created paper dioramas are gorgeous. The use of shadows and light are exquisite and readers' perception of depth is almost three-dimensional. VERDICT A wonderful resource for nature lovers and for any classroom, especially for art and science curricula.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

2018-03-04
Paired with cut-paper diorama illustrations, folk sayings that predict weather become a story in this picture book.Author/illustrator MacKay begins with the saying "Red sky at night, sailor's delight," and the accompanying illustration shows a family—an older man and two young children—peering out the window of their cozy house into a red sunset. MacKay creates her illustrations by using cutout paper drawings placed in dioramas, lit, and then photographed. This technique achieves remarkable luminosity and a three-dimensional aspect, with the overall impression being that of looking into a magical stage set. The drawback, though, is that while MacKay does link story elements within the illustrations (the children appear throughout), the individual pictures still don't agreeably mesh because the light in each one is different, giving a subtle, disparate impression. The organization of weather-related folk sayings into a story of a family sailing, fishing, camping, and then heading home as a storm threatens is original and works well. Too, it may nudge readers to become more curious about their natural world (backmatter gives explanations behind the sayings). And the illustrations—individually—are mesmerizing. Both children and caregiver have beige skin and tightly curled hair, suggesting mixed heritage.Distinctive, luminous illustrations delight the eye, although visually the story lacks complete cohesion. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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