NOISES AT NIGHT

Nighttime, with all its shadows and sounds, can be disconcerting for even the most lion-hearted. In this tale, as the moonlight touches a little boy’s quilt, he says, “I hear noises at night,” as his and his dog’s ears perk up. “I like to pretend when I shut off the light, / The noises turn into adventures at night!”—and thus the color palette changes from blues to brights. The sounds are first identified, and then imagined scenarios come into play. A vroom of a passing truck becomes the youngster flying a plane. The tick-tock of the clock becomes the trotting of a horse as the boy rides out west. One of the best spreads is prompted by the hiss of the heater. It shows the youngster wrapped in a snake’s puffy coils, the background ablaze in orange, but the snake’s eyes show that it is completely charmed by the boy’s flute playing. The expansive illustrations, in dazzling acrylics, amuse and enchant. This tale is a wonderful way to ease bedtime fears and may even result in children creating their own soothing game. (Picture book. 3-6)