2018 School Spending Survey Report
It Is Night
illus. by Laura Dronzek. 32p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. May 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780062250247. LC 2013028060.
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PreS-Gr 1—Fresh illustrations for Rowand's 1953 text reward young children, who are sure to enjoy this quiet, classic ode to bedtime. Repetitious phrases help create a soothing tone, while the pictures reinforce the peaceful and calming nature of the story. Dronzek's acrylic illustrations are awash in the colors of bedtime; blues, grays, and purples are accented with subtle white and yellow pops that mimic stars and streetlights. Children's imaginations are at the forefront of the text with the simple question of "Where do _____ sleep?" while the artwork provides realistic renderings of both the animal and its sleeping spot. The final scene, taking up a full spread, creates a feeling of familiarity for children—all of a sleeping girl's toys are gathered on her bed with her. Dronzek's images have given Rowand's text a well-deserved spot on bookshelves and nightstands that currently feature bedtime soothers such as Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon and Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book (Houghton Harcourt, 2010).—Beth Dobson, Weatherly Heights Elementary School, Huntsville, ALNew ed., 1953, Harper. A series of bedtime questions ("Where does a railroad train go at night?") receive answers in this book first published in 1953 with illustrations by Rowand. The lulling litany is sweetly updated in Dronzek's blanket-soft, moon-drenched art. Some unlikely groupings (tiger and giraffe) presage the satisfying conclusion in which it is shown that the creatures are dolls, toys, and pets.
A series of bedtime questions ("Where would a rooster roost?" "Where does a railroad train go at night?") receive answers ranging from the familiar (a cat sleeps in a basket) to the informative (where bears sleep varies with the seasons) to the whimsical (a rabbit might sleep "in a cabbage. Except that he would want to eat it"). First published in 1953 with illustrations by Rowand, this lulling litany is sweetly updated in Dronzek's art. Her blanket-soft black lines and saturated, moon-drenched nighttime palette recall her illustrations for Helen V. Griffith's Moonlight (rev. 1/12). Some unlikely groupings (tiger and giraffe) presage the satisfying conclusion in which it is shown that the creatures are dolls, toys, and pets that all "sleep in the bed of one small child." The big reveal invites a reprise of the story for bedtime-book listeners. joanna rudge long
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