Perfect Picture Book Friday-Nightsong

Posted on by Penny Parker Klostermann

Nightsong

Nightsong

Written by Ari Berk

Illustrated by Loren Long

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 2012

Ages 4-8

Themes: Animals, Bats, Adventure

Synopsis: (from Simon and Schuster) A breathtaking picture book illustrated by mega-bestseller Loren Long, about a young bat setting off into the world using only his good sense!
Sense is the song you sing out into the world,
and the song the world sings back to you.
With these words, Chiro’s mother sends him off into the night for the first time alone. It’s an adventure, but how will he find his way? And how will he find his way home? As the young bat discovers, navigating the world around him is easy as long as he uses his good sense.

Opening: The sun had set, and the shadows clinging to the walls of the cave began to wake and whisper. “Chiro? Little Wing?” the bat-mother said to her child. “Tonight you must fly out into the world, and I will wait here for you.”

Resources: HERE is the link to the fun music video on echolocation that I decided was so cute that it had to be included in my review. I can just see a classroom of first graders jamming to the beat!

Kidzone has a nice list of activities HERE. Their activities include printable, online activities, and worksheets. You will find a bat mask HERE. Bats4Kids, found HERE, has a slue of information, activities, and even an echolocation game. HERE is a link to National Geographic’s Creature Feature on the vampire bat.

Why I Like This Book: I was mesmerized by the text and illustrations from cover to cover. The well chosen language in the text connected me to Chiro as he took his night flight. The illustrations gave me a bats-eye view, seeing only what Chiro was seeing by singing and using his “good sense.” The combination told a story that will children will want to hear over and over again.

Susanna Leonard Hill features Perfect Picture Book Friday on her blog. This is a wonderful resource if you are wondering what books to give as gifts, needing material for a lesson, or just looking for a great book to read. Here is a list of books by category. Each book listed has a link to a review, information about that book, and resources for activities. There is also an alphabetical list.

22 thoughts on “Perfect Picture Book Friday-Nightsong”

  6. Oh Wow! That cover has it sold before you even open to the first page. The opening lines and words from his Mum are beautiful. Definitely a must take home read. Lovely review and I love the video, so catchy. Like Julie said, your in trouble if I can’t get it out of my head. 🙂

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      1. I meant the song in the trailer/video you posted! I also just picked up the book – fast ‘hold’ service – and it is really lovely. Surprised such a wordy (as in word count!) book got published though!

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        1. I caught on to that after I responded…”Oh, I’ll bet she meant the video!”
          LOL
          Don’t you love it when a book breaks the “rules”?
          Some books are wordy and the story is so good that you don’t notice it until (as a writer) you start to analyze.

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