Review by Booklist Review
There's something deliciously magical about the stereotypical idea of summertime: hours spent splashing in the water, sipping cool drinks in the sunshine, and reading books in the shade. But when the sun begins to set, a whole new set of adventures begins. Enter the titular "dusk explorers," children who spend their time wandering their neighborhoods in the liminal state between day and night. The book follows them moment to moment as the kids play tag, catch lightning bugs, and share curbside whispers, all while ignoring their parents' calls to return home. Leslie's gorgeous text doesn't tell a story so much as it describes a glorious summer evening's activities, and Rooney's striking mixed-media illustrations contain an array of beautiful textures and hues, capturing the glowing tones of dusk perfectly--a glorious two-page spread of fireflies is particularly dazzling. Young readers will be eager for their own outdoor adventures by the end, and grown-ups reading aloud will no doubt feel nostalgia for the perfect summer evenings of their youth.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Leslie describes the jewel of neighborhood playtime--the hour when the sun sets and dusk falls, before parents call their children inside. Free verse celebrates tag players who "love to sprint between huddled homes," nature explorers who give the toads they catch "funny matching names," and "curbside whisperers" who "snicker at the stories they dare not/ share with anyone else." Collage-style spreads by Rooney feature crisp-edged figures frolicking against backgrounds of painted texture. Gradually, the sky dims as the sun sets in washes of purple and gold. "TIME TO COME HOME!" parents call. In Leslie's lyrical narrative (a child finds "courage in the roughness of bark"), children are observed in a work that is as interested in poetry as it is in the busy, unencumbered experience of exploratory play. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4--In this old-fashioned story, summer evenings are a time when children play games with their friends in the neighborhood, climb trees, discover worms, find toads, and catch fireflies. Set in a suburban neighborhood, a diverse group of kids and an eclectic array of insects and other animals enjoy roaming around their neighborhood as the day comes to a close. The bold, two-page illustrations in bright colors enhance the themes of exploration and tech-free play. VERDICT This title will bring back childhood memories of innocent play for adults and spark interest in children to go out in nature and enjoy technology-free time with friends and family.--Noureen Qadir-Jafar, Syosset Library, NY
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Review by Horn Book Review
A suburban neighborhood, nostalgically drawn, bids children to make the most of a summer evening. As twilight falls, a diverse cast of kids happily heeds the call to climb trees and look at worms; play leapfrog, hide-and-seek, tag, and kick-the-can; and whisper secrets and catch fireflies together. Leslie has a keen sense of how children play: they "love to run at lightning-fast speeds to a cricket's crick, crick, crick and dodge a street lamp's gradual glow to keep from being captured," and they enjoy giving toads "funny matching names like Bubba, Bubbette, and Bubbarina." Pairing seamlessly with the vivid, lyrical text are Rooney's bold mixed-media collage illustrations, which use light and dark and swaths of color to wonderful effect. On the title page, for starters, a sinking sun shines softly, casting a hazy glow on the book's title. As Rooney's palette shifts from blues, yellows, and greens to purples and pinks, streetlamps cast triangular beams of light; porch lights, doorways, and windows faintly gleam; and the starlit sky looks like it's been "sprinkled with diamonds." Interspersed throughout the book are striking silhouette scenes, with children's figures set against backdrops of textured color. It's a picture-book celebration of -- and a clarion call for -- unstructured, unsupervised, unplugged playtime, for children to roam and explore the outdoors and "pretend not to hear their parents' the-sun-is-gone yell: 'Time to come home!'" Tanya D. Auger September/October 2020 p.65(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Few 21st-century kids know the joys of romping outside all day, but this book encourages readers to try it. In this lushly illustrated picture book, the kids in this neighborhood stay in perpetual motion. They play games, ride bikes or scooters, climb trees, roll down grassy hills, and catch frogs, clearly enjoying the outdoors and one another. Twilight settles over their suburban neighborhood as they catch fireflies and splash in a shallow stream, ignoring calls to come home. Ending with an invitation to all dusk explorers, this book persuasively advocates for unplugged, tech-free days, beckoning readers to get outside and play, play, play. The book's color palette gradually shifts from yellows and greens to blues and purples, with the moon and stars illuminating the final scene. Insects and animals, both domesticated and wild, appear in many scenes. Notably, most of the characters in the illustrations are children of color, with a beautiful array of skin tones, facial features, and hair textures. This message that the outdoors is for everyone from every background will resonate in an era when organizations like Outdoor Afro are encouraging more families of color to get out and experience nature. This awesome, visually rich story will captivate adults who once played outside until the street lights came on as well as their kids, who will now want to. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
