Night Ride

Riding in a car with his mother all night, a young boy watches as the roadside landscape is transformed from twilight all the way through to dawn.

PreSchool-Grade 2 Dialogue between a mother and her school-age son forms the text for this twilight-to-dawn car ride from the city to the country. Along the way, the boy sees the splendor of the night lights, passes a highway accident, and smells a skunk as they head into the countryside. In a sunny visual surprise, a picture of the next morning finds them at a scenic lookout about to finish the journey. The nighttime is lovingly and realistically depicted in dark but never dingy shades of green, blue, and brown. Other than one picture which shows the forested countryside in ghoul-like images, the Karlins help children to see the night as friendly and interesting. Readers will want to discuss each picture, noting the lighted stadium or the carnival, sharing their own experiences, or asking questions. The darkness and the inexplicit text make this difficult to share with large groups, and the fragments of dialogue make it difficult to read aloud. However, families will enjoy reliving their nighttime trips or imagining what's out there as they enjoy these powerful and evocative illustrations. A good companion to Donald Crews' Light (Greenwillow, 1981). Susan Hepler, formerly at Windsor Public Library, Conn.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The nighttime car trip taken by a boy and his mother is the idea that prompts this picture book, which depicts the various thingsan amusement park, a night ballgame, roadside deerone might see during such a venture. The illustrations are evocative of the nocturnal world; the artist aptly renders images that are particular to the night and suggest ways in which daytime perceptions become transformed after dark. The text is an inferior frame in which to hang the illustrations, however; consisting solely of dialogue, without any linking narrative, it reads in a flat and disjointed manner. Despite the pleasing visuals, readers may consider this journey of too little consequence to repeat. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.