Through the eyes of a redheaded boy narrator, Caldecott Medalist Mordicai Gerstein (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers) unlocks the wonders to be discovered at night and the magic of the sunrise.
"Good night, Sylvie," the boy says to his black cat as she stares outside at a darkening landscape. A tricycle rests under the trees. Pink clouds pick up on the roses in the bushes beneath the boy's window. The sound of Sylvie's "meow"--in white type against the smoky-black background--prompts the child to sit bolt upright. Cat and child move like dancers through the dark house, where "everyone is sleeping, even the goldfish." Everything looks different to the boy in the dark. "Me-out!" cries Sylvie, as if the night gives voice to the cat. "It's coming.... It's almost here.... Hurry!" Outside, in the shadows, the boy thinks he sees roses, lilies and sunflowers: "Where are the colors?" he wonders. Gerstein plays with contrasts and shapes, and the way the child identifies the familiar things of his world without benefit of light and color. Into the illustrations Gerstein tucks hidden rabbits, mice, raccoons and other animals, "It's coming.... It's almost here!" they say. On the horizon, a glow emanates upwards. The nocturnal creatures slip away, and the clouds turn pink and orange. "It's here!" Sylvie says. The roses, lilies and sunflowers stand out in glorious detail.
It's as if all of nature has shared its secret with the boy, allowing him to witness the wonder of the sunrise. Marvelous. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness