Turn On the Night

by Geraldo Valério

Overview

A wordless book that celebrates a child’s imaginative freedom.

A little girl falls asleep and in her dream becomes a huge gray wolf, like the one in her bedtime story. Out the window she leaps, and a marvelous nighttime adventure unfolds. She visits the rooster in his coop, and invites him to hop upon her back and together they run through the night. A reindeer joins in the fun, until the three are suddenly stopped in their tracks by a giant dazzling star. The reindeer climbs upon the wolf, and the rooster upon the reindeer to reach the star, then they carry it home, where it brings all kinds of light to the little girl’s world.

This vibrantly illustrated wordless picture book is a celebration of the inspiration and freedom to be found in stories, dreams and the imagination.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.9
With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554988419
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

GERALDO VALÉRIO was born in Brazil, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing, followed by a Master of Arts at New York University. His books, which frequently receive starred reviews, include My Book of Butterflies and My Book of Birds, Two Green Birds, At the Pond (Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award honor book), Blue Rider, Turn On the Night and Night Runners. His work has been published in Canada, the US, Brazil, Portugal, France, the UK and China. Geraldo lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/13/2016
A giddy sense of possibility permeates this enchanting wordless story. Valério (My Book of Birds) opens with an overhead view of more than a dozen homes, clustered in a field of supernaturally green grass underneath an inky night sky. Zooming in brings readers closer to one home, where a dog and chicken sleep outside, and into the bedroom of a girl asleep in her bed, a chicken doll in one arm and a book (this one) in the other. A page turn finds the girl transformed into a giant white wolf that soars out the window and then bounds across the grass. A chicken and a deer join up with the wolf, and together they run, howl at the heavens, and pluck a giant star from the sky, which sets the girl’s bedroom aglow with celestial light after the adventure is done. Dwelling in images of sinuous animals, sweeping landscapes, and the sheer joy of running for the sake of running, Valério’s paint and pencil artwork almost vibrates with the idea that not even the sky is the limit in one’s dreams. Ages 4–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Very highly recommended for young readers ages 4 to 8, Turn On The Night is a vibrantly illustrated wordless picture book and a joyous celebration of the inspiration and freedom to be found in stories, dreams and the imagination.

Midwest Book Review

Valério’s illustrations communicate emotion while celebrating the power of imagination and visual storytelling.

International Literacy Association

It's a simple, but magical, plot … [Valério] captures with a seeming ease the euphoria of dreams of flight, as well as the cryptic nature of dreams, even ones that leave you with a smile on your face.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Turn on the Night embraces the imaginative potentials of wordless literature and the magical enchantment of the nighttime world of dreams.

CM Magazine

Valério's stylized imagery … grounds the narrative with a folk-like simplicity, which contrasts with the story's abstracted, supernatural sweep.

STARRED REVIEW Horn Book

"A giddy sense of possibility permeates this enchanting wordless story." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"It is hard to choose a favorite among the illustrations, which use composition, form, and color to full advantage to animate the three animals and spin a magical tale. More than a bedtime story: a treat from a masterful artist." — Kirkus, starred review

"This is an eye-pleasing and dream-dazzling delight for bedtime or anytime." — School Library Journal

"Valério’s illustrations communicate emotion while celebrating the power of imagination and visual storytelling." — International Literacy Association

"It's a simple, but magical, plot . . . [Valério] captures with a seeming ease the euphoria of dreams of flight, as well as the cryptic nature of dreams, even ones that leave you with a smile on your face." — Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

"Very highly recommended for young readers . . . 'Turn On The Night' is a vibrantly illustrated wordless picture book and a joyous celebration of the inspiration and freedom to be found in stories, dreams and the imagination." — Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—A youngster's imagination soars to the stars in this stunningly illustrated wordless picture book. Tucked into bed with a book in one hand and a stuffed chicken in the other, a girl dozes off, transforms into a willowy canine creature, and springs out of the open window for a fanciful adventure. The protagonist is soon joined by two traveling companions—a chicken from the backyard coop and a majestic antlered animal—and all three gleefully bound across the nighttime landscape. Spotting a bright beacon in a twinkle-filled sky, they work together to snatch the star and then return to their starting points, the canine critter leaping back through the window with starburst clasped in mouth. A page turn shows the sleeping girl, her room now star-strewn and aglow with warm light. Featuring lithe, robust animals that stretch across simply drawn backdrops, the acrylic paint and color pencil illustrations are inundated with imagination-empowering possibility. Images of the three figures reoccur in different incarnations (on the cover of a book, on a lampshade, as a weather vane), encouraging readers to flip pages back and forth, seek out details, and construct their own narratives. VERDICT Perfect for one-on-one or small group sharing, this is an eye-pleasing and dream-dazzling delight for bedtime or anytime.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-28
A little girl falls asleep—clutching her picture book and her stuffed-animal hen—and a joyous, wordless adventure unfolds.Before the page showing the sleeping, light-skinned girl, there is a double-page spread with a wide expanse of green grass, over which layers of brush-stroked blues show the start of a starry night. There are simple structures: a doghouse with a large tail sticking out, a henhouse with a hen inside, and a turquoise-blue house, where the girl sleeps. Her house has a caribou weathervane. All the animals on that page recur in the next double-page spread: the dog on the book cover; the hen as her toy; the caribou as a lamp. The girl seems to become the dog as a giant, furry form leaves behind an empty bed and leaps out the window in the next tableau. Dog, caribou, and hen move through the darkening night, find a golden orb in the sky, and eventually give it new purpose. There is no danger lurking in this dreamlike tale; all is sweet whimsy. The stylized, brightly colored animals are friendly and cooperative, figuring out together how to access the tantalizing star. It is hard to choose a favorite among the illustrations, which use composition, form, and color to full advantage to animate the three animals and spin a magical tale. More than a bedtime story: a treat from a masterful artist. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews