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PICTURE BOOKS
Han, Sally Soweol

Nightsong

40 pp. | Bloomsbury | May, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9781547615063 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781547615070 $13.29
(2) K-3 There are sounds all around young Lewis as he waits for his mom to finish a visit with other grownups in the noisy city ("TICK-TOCK" "CRUNCH!" "HONK!"). But it's the "POP!" sound of their now-flattened bus tire on the way back to their home in the country that gives Lewis a chance to discover the wondrous sounds of nature. Though he is bored at first, when "he listens to the sounds around him...the more he hears. And the more he wants to see." So off he goes exploring in the field next to the roadway, led by a firefly under a "moon-bright sky." There the "beetles BUZZ and critters ZIP," "nighttime creatures RUSTLE," and "fish SPLISH and SPLASH" until "the night sounds become a song." When their bus ride home resumes, Lewis contentedly plays the new songs in his head. Han's simple onomatopoeia-filled text and accompanying color-coded sound effects in the illustrations will draw in young listeners. Her soft, detailed hand-drawn paintings are luminous; rendered mainly in grayscale, they reflect the moon's glow and feature pops of color for all the noisemakers. A varied page design complements the liveliness of the narrative, as does Lewis's visible amazement ("CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!") throughout his excursion. This joyful celebration of and appreciation for the music of nature will leave readers repeating "CROAK CROAK," "FLITTER," "FLUTTER," "CHIRR CHIRR[c1]" too.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

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