Review by Booklist Review
When Daddy announces, It's a firefly night, a barefoot girl runs across the moonlit yard, chasing the bugs and putting them into her jar. But catching the insects is only half the experience. As she says, I love catching fireflies, but they are not mine. The most magical part of the book comes as she sits in the grass, opens the jar, and whispers good-bye as the fireflies drift away into the night. Two appended pages offer fast facts about fireflies. Told from the girl's point of view, the text is written in rhymed couplets that recreate a joyful childhood encounter with nature. The illustrations, collages of dynamic painted elements, create a series of pleasing evening scenes that are richly colored and textured. Glittery highlights on the jacket will help draw attention to this delightful picture book.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"When the moon is high/ and the stars are bright,/ Daddy tells me,/ 'It's a firefly night,' " explains a girl in a pink nightgown, as she races through her yard trying to collect glimmering lightning bugs. Snyder's illustrations pull some serious weight to create a feeling of nighttime magic: the lawn glows with an almost supernatural lime green, which is echoed in the gleam of the fireflies and the stars in a night sky painted in rough strokes of blue and violet. The overall effect of Snyder's art is that of cut-paper collage, and she includes friendly details throughout, from the small smiles that the fireflies wear to the reassuring presence of the girl's father, clad in his bedroom slippers. Ochiltree's rhymes are sturdy, and she makes it clear that, while catching fireflies is fun, the beetles are not meant to be kept ("Uncurling my hand,/ easy and slow,/ I whisper good-bye,/ then I let it go!"). Assorted firefly facts close out this cozy evocation of a special dad-and-daughter night. Ages 3-6. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
On a summer's night, a child sails out into her yard to gather (and then release) lightning bugs. Just like the stars that seem to wink and glimmer in Snyder's moonlit, mist-streaked night skies, fireflies glow in the grass amid scattered trees and flowers. They smile in close-up views as the child, barefoot and nightgown-clad, gently gathers them into a big jar while her father looks on. Reflecting that "I love catching fireflies, / but they are not mine," she cups each captive in her hand before "easy and slow, / I whisper good-bye, / then I let it go!" A spread of firefly facts caps the idyllic nighttime foray. Rough sparkly patches on the jacket add a tactile element that compensates, at least in part, for inner flaps that cover parts of the endpaper nightscapes. The bugs and brushwork resemble Eric Carle's, but Snyder's art works its own magic. An intimate encounter with nature lit not just by stars and fireflies, but also an affecting dose of daddy-daughter warmth. (Picture book. 4-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
