Night Animals

April 20, 2015
Scary creatures who are themselves cowardly are always good for giggles. In Marino’s sweet-tempered nocturnal comedy, large, scary animals flee from the threat of still larger and scarier animals. Marino (Following Papa’s Song) paints her detailed animal portraits on black backgrounds, paying fine attention to composition and the textures of fur. A skunk asks a possum hiding in a hollow tree stump what he’s doing. “Shhhhhh!! I’m hiding,” says Possum. “What are we hiding from?” asks Skunk, now just a set of bright eyes in the dark of the stump. “Night animals!” replies Possum. In search of a less crowded space, they venture forth: “Help me!” says a wolf, who thinks he’s being followed by a bear. They’re all scared, big and small, and Marino ramps up the excitement until the animals encounter the scariest creature of all (hint: it lives in a tent). Bonus visual subplots involves Skunk’s stench and Possum’s tendency to... play possum. The spreads are polished, the story moves fast, and the laughs keep coming. Ages 3–5. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary Agency.

Starred review from May 1, 2015
Animals turn topsy-turvy in fear of things that go bump in the night. Nighttime can be scary, but Marino's black cover uses a supershiny silver title and a opossum with comically exaggerated trepidation on his face to assure that this story isn't spooky-at least, not for readers. It sure spooks the splendid animal characters, who pose fabulously on the inside of the jacket next to nonfiction zoological details. In a dark forest, Possum hunkers inside a hollow tree. A skunk joins him. They scrunch down together, bodies merging with hole's blackness so only their googly eyes and the skunk's white nose-stripe show. A gray wolf and grizzly bear appear, frightening the others but terrified themselves. The animals hug trees, clutch and cling to one another, and tumble about in fright. The skunk holds Possum upside down by his tail over the wolf's back; Possum repeatedly plays dead, even assuring himself in a thought bubble, "I'm not here." Every page is visually funny, with hilarious close-ups and slapstick animal postures. A bat asks what they're scared of, and they answer, "night animals"; the bat's reply, though obvious, is still uproarious: "But you ARE night animals." Gouache-and-ink illustrations place the animals' antics in a smooth, two-dimensional black forest background with sparse, beige-gray birch trees. A giggle-inducing new gem for the night-fears bookshelf. (Picture book. 3-7)

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May 1, 2015

PreS-K-A great cover design-a scared-looking opossum, stark black background, and the title in shiny silver lettering-will grab kids' attention. Endpapers in black, relieved only by three pairs of wide open eyes, will build suspense. As the story begins, Possum is hiding in the woods when a friendly skunk comes along. Possum spreads a fear of "night animals" to the skunk, then a wolf, and a bear. It takes a calm bat to explain to them that they are night animals. The illustrations include a lot of visual humor, as in Possum "playing possum" by acting dead and Skunk spraying "perfume" each time they get scared. The inside of the cover includes scientific facts about the animals, which is a nice feature that unfortunately will present processing challenges for many libraries. VERDICT A good title to share with children who may be afraid of the dark to help them see the lighter side of fear.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2015
Preschool-K *Starred Review* As Possum frantically attempts to hide from night animals, he is joined by Skunk, then anxious Gray Wolf, and finally terrified Grizzly Bear, resulting in a humorous nighttime romp about a group of animals who don't realize that they are night creatures themselves. Although Fruit Bat informs the frightened animals of this fact, suggesting there is nothing to fear, they all panic and flee when they encounter two flashlight-wielding (and equally startled) children. Truly remarkable illustrations clearly convey the book's raucous activity and feature beautifully rendered animals standing in sharp contrast to pitch-black backgrounds. Glossy pages combine with Marino's expressive brushwork to make the silvery-gray, black, and brown animal coats shine in the moonlight. Their bug-eyed expressions and body language lend additional humor to the story, along with some of their habitsthe skunk randomly spraying and the possum playing dead, for example. The inside cover offers brief scientific facts about each of the book's featured animals and explains the difference between nocturnal and crepuscular creatures. The large illustrations, abundant silliness, and forest noises will make this a fun storytime selection that can be easily paired with other nighttime-adventures tales, such as the wordless Flashlight, by Lizi Boyd (2014). This eye-catching, slapstick foray into the worrisome night will light up the room with smiles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)