Three little girls, each pretending to be a different animal, spend some time playing in the night garden and then prepare for bed. Joose's text is lyrical and poetic and I like that she didn't try to force it into a rhyme scheme, but instead left the words loose and free. Elizabeth Sayles' illustrations, done in acrylics and pastels, are dreamy and soft. Dominated by blues, the illustrations effectively evoke twilight and night but still retain a sense of playfulness. The integration of the animal sounds into the illustrations themselves is particularly well done. This worked well for storytime since the kids liked joining in on the animal sounds, but be prepared with your whale song ahead of time!

Used for Once Upon a Night Terrific Ts, Preschool, and Family storytimes in January 2010. ( )