The Night Frolic

by Julie Berry, Jaime Zollars (Illustrator)

Overview

For readers who love The Night Gardener, The Antlered Ship, and Emily Winfield Martin’s Dream Animals, this mythological, Sendak-inspired romp to the top of the world and back home again is a bedtime classic-in-the-making.

Where do children go when they drift off to sleep's
 
They float on a warm nighttime breeze over forests and peaks.
They tumble down a mountain carpeted in night blossoms.
They sail in silver ships over ribbons of moonlight,
and arrive at a shining pavilion at the very top of the world.
 
Now the Night Frolic can begin.
 
From acclaimed creators Julie Berry and Jaime Zollars, this exquisite, immersive bedtime fantasy will mesmerize dreamers young and old.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316591836
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,083,119
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.55(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julie Berry is the author of Happy Right Now; Long Ago on a Silent Night; the Printz Honor novel The Passion of Dolssa; the Carnegie and Edgar-shortlisted All the Truth That's In Me; the New York Times bestselling Lovely War; and many other acclaimed books for young readers. She also owns an independent bookstore in her hometown. She lives in Western New York and invites you to visit her online at julieberrybooks.com.

Jaime Zollars is the creator of The Truth About Dragons. Her art has been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, among others. She lives in Southern California and invites you to visit her online at JaimeZollars.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/12/2022

“Where do children go when they drift off to sleep?” This beckoning, otherworldly flight of fancy by Berry (Cranky Right Now) imagines a velvety realm to which children are carried “in silver ships over ribbons of moonlight,” sailing amid merfolk and through polar lands. After encountering the Night Tiger and her cubs, the Moon, and the Night Walrus, the kids arrive at a North Pole pavilion where the Night Elephant issues greetings and the Great Frolic begins. Holding musical instruments of all kinds, a dancing, winding throng of children and creatures spills out into the open, “sailing, soaring, somersaulting,” until “the Old Serpent that encircles the world” wakes, smiles, and reminds them to sleep, and a warm breeze sends the children “into their soft beds.” Zollars (The Truth About Dragons) illustrates the drift of dreamy, querying prose with candy-tinted, digitally colored art, portraying the assembled, gape-mouthed whirlwind of children with a variety of skin tones. Berry’s mesmerizing prose sounds like a saga from another world, and this vision of journey, adventure, and happy clamor offers both antidote to and fodder for sleep’s dark mysteries. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media. Illustrator’s agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

"The brief, lyrical text offers a beguiling invitation to imagination... Zollars’ graphite and digitally colored illustrations, in luminous shades of pink, purple, and blue, are full of opulent details and swirling, kaleidoscopic movements. Downright magical, this is a picture book made for dreamers."—Booklist

"The high level of detail begs readers to study each image....A dream come true for readers seeking a new bedtime story."—Kirkus

"[A] beckoning, otherworldly flight of fancy...Berry’s mesmerizing prose sounds like a saga from another world, and this vision of journey, adventure, and happy clamor offers both antidote to and fodder for sleep’s dark mysteries."—Publishers Weekly

"The poetic text, full of rich vocabulary, seems meant to be read out loud.... breathtaking illustrations, created with graphite on vellum bristol paper and colored digitally, are detailed and invite thoughtful inspection."—School Library Journal

“Most magical bedtime book ever! Definitely feels like a classic to handsell again and again.”—Kepler’s Books (Menlo Park, CA)

“This magical bedtime book will make you want to curl up with a blanket and float on a nighttime breeze.”—Parnassus Books (Nashville, TN)

From the Publisher

01/01/2023

Gr 1–3—Unnamed siblings, a boy and a girl with brown skin and dark curly brown hair, take an imaginative journey as they tour a world inhabited by spectacular creatures inviting them into the fantastical world of sleep. Through the course of their night adventures the children encounter a welcoming tiger, enormous walrus, cheerful elephant, and old serpent. Silver ships transport them to various locations where they are joined by mythical creatures and a diverse group of happy children. They all converge, forming a large and loud parade, singing and playing musical instruments. Finally, a dolphin takes them home where they are tucked into bed. In the morning they are greeted by the enormous serpent looking into their window who poses the question, "Are you ready?" This open-ended resolution could be interpreted many ways and could lead to a stimulating discussion. The poetic text, full of rich vocabulary, seems meant to be read out loud. However, it lacks many of the elements of good storytelling. While there is a theme of sorts, both a plot and character development are nonexistent; the children's mouths are mostly agape when they are awake, and closed when they sleep. The otherwise breathtaking illustrations, created with graphite on vellum bristol paper and colored digitally, are detailed and invite thoughtful inspection. A comparison to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is obvious, although some of the darker images carry a Dante's "Inferno" vibe as well, which seems counterproductive in a bedtime book. VERDICT Whether for sleepy time or not, this is an additional purchase.—Lynne Stover

School Library Journal

2022-11-29
A fantasy answering the question of where kids go when they sleep.

Pajama-clad children ride ribbons of wispy night breezes to the “high den of the Night Tiger,” a large, Cheshire cat–like creature (who has proportions more akin to a plump house cat than a threatening tiger), before beginning their journey through the night world. The Night Tiger is just the first of the fantastical, oversized animals—who have rounded bodies and luminescent eyes—with which the sleeping children dance and play across full-page spreads in twilight and jewel tones. Finally, at the height of the merriment, the frolic wakes “the Old Serpent that encircles the world,” who gently sends the children and creatures alike to bed, so as to wake them again in the golden morning. Readers will enjoy spotting the protagonists’ little white dog in the scenes. Spare text allows illustrations to take center stage. The high level of detail begs readers to study each image. Although sometimes crowded with characters, the art is composed with sizes and proportions in mind, using spacing to maintain clarity, and an awareness of the book’s gutter so as to make sure no delicious detail is lost. The many children depicted are diverse, pajamas helping to identify reoccurring children; the characters most closely followed have brown skin and brown curls. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A dream come true for readers seeking a new bedtime story. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews