The Night Ones

Grossman, Patricia

ISBN 10: 0152574387 ISBN 13: 9780152574383

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1991

Synopsis

Follows Clarence, Honey, Porter, Amelia, and Cap as they take a bus to the city at night to begin their work day cooking cleaning, baking and more

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Through a bare-bones text and cartoonlike, crayon pencil illustrations, this book shows the nighttime occupations of a cleaner, a baker, a porter, a dock worker, and an air traffic controller. Dark backgrounds are brightened with glowing store windows and street lights, and an abundance of subtle background details. There is no plot as such, just a handful of well-chosen words per page (or no words at all) to bring to life these people and their typical night shifts. The spareness of the language does not preclude depth or color; even the names are apt. The baker finishes her work thus: "Honey greets the avenue with a heavenly smell." Gender-free occupational titles are used, and the characters are of both sexes and of various ages and ethnic origins. This is a more colorful, more personal presentation than Kessler's Night Story (Macmillan, 1981; o.p.), less impressionistic than Eve Rice's City Night (Greenwillow, 1987), and more stylish and sophisticated than Mauri Kunnas's The Nighttime Book (Crown, 1985), all of which include at least some depiction of night workers. For individual enjoyment or reading aloud, this may also supplement units on careers or urban life. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

In the dark of night, five city dwellers get off the "night bus," headed for their jobs. One man cleans offices, another is a doorman at a posh hotel. Honey rolls and shapes dough in a bakery, while Amelia labors in an airport control tower and Cap loads cargo onto large ships. When dawn breaks, these nocturnal workers return home on the bus. Undoubtedly, some children will be intrigued by the notion that, while they are sleeping, some grownups are busily at work. Yet Grossman's tale is a bit sluggish and her poetic language occasionally obscure: "Amelia turns her back on the office that circles the world." Dabcovich's ( Sleepy Bear ; Mrs. Huggins and Her Hen Hannah ) pictures successfully capture the golden glow--and the near-quiet--of a city at night. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0152574387
• ISBN 13: 9780152574383
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Dabcovich Lydia