Night Animals
Here’s my selection for Perfect Picture Book Friday:
Night Animals
Written and Illustrated by Gianna Marino
Viking Books for Young Readers, July 2015
Suitable for: ages 3-5
Theme/Topic: Night, Fear, Nocturnal Animals.
Opening Spread: Skunk speech bubble: Hey Possum, what are you doing in there?
Possum: Shhhhhh! I’m hiding.
Brief Synopsis: From Gianna Marino’s website: Something’s out there in the dark!
First Possum hears it. Then Skunk. Then Wolf comes running.
“What could it possibly be?” asks Bat.
“Night Animals!” the animals declare.
“But you are night animals,” Bat informs this not-so-smart crew.
Children will love the funny animals in this twist on a cozy
bedtime book.
Resources: Here’s a lesson plan from a PBS program about nocturnal animals. Who’s Awake at Night activities. Due to the final scene, parents, who like to camp, may want to talk about being among wild animals and how to react to them.
Why I Like This Book: It’s dark! Not in a film noir kind of way, but in a night kind of way. The animals against the black background really sets the tone for a “night animal” book. I love the comedic timing of the story and art. This book proves that night animals aren’t really scary. They are hilarious! Skunk and Possum made me swoon with laugher.
For more PPBF books, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Blog.
I’m loving the PPBF recommendations. We received several books from last week’s list and enjoyed them. Thank you for sharing.
Last week, we drove to Denver to hear Penny Parker Klostermann read There Was An Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight.
Since we already had a copy of Penny’s book, we donated our unsigned copy to Enzo’s school library. When I told Enzo I gave it to the librarian, he said, “I hope a kid picked it.” He wants it to be checked out soon!
Penny’s book is a great read aloud at home and really shines in a group setting, as we were all chiming in at Penny’s direction!
