Note: I received an F&G from the publisher at an ALA conference. ( )

A young boy who has trouble making friends at boarding school sneaks out in the middle of the night to accept an invitation to a special party. A ride on the back of a giant turtle to an island tea party with forest creatures gives him an amazing story to tell.

Beautiful illustrations that have very little need of text puts the reader right into the story, sharing the child’s loneliness and his joy at finding new friends. ( )

A very nearly wordless story of a boy living in a group home, who sneaks out at night and has an adventure with his pet turtle (grown enormous) and other wild animals before returning at daybreak to tell his story to the other boys.

See also: Journey by Aaron Becker, Chirri & Chirra by Kaya Doi ( )

A young boy, the only one still awake in his dormitory late one night, spies a mysterious invitation in this mostly wordless picture-book from Daniel Miyares. Sneaking out the window and biking away, he meets up with a friendly turtle, who escorts him to a magical tea with a group of woodland animals. After a wonderful night out, the boy returns to his school with a marvelous tale to tell...

I expected something quite magical from Night Out, given the beautiful cover art, the fact that it involved a turtle (always a plus!), and that I enjoyed the illustrations in P.I. Maltbie's Bambino and Mr. Twain, the only other work of Daniel Miyares' that I had previously encountered. The artwork here, done in gouache and colored pencil, did not let me down! This is a beautiful book, one in which the visuals are more than capable of telling the story. Given that this was so, I found the minimal text here unnecessary at best and distracting at worst, and think the creator made a mistake, in not making this a wordless picture-book. Recommended (with the caveat that the artwork is much stronger than the words) to young dreamers who imagine nighttime adventures, and to Daniel Miyares fans. ( )