Compiled by Jane Y0len and Andrew Fusek Peters
Illustrated by G. Brian Karas
Published by Candlewick, 2010
ISBN 9780763642495

This wonderful collection of poems from “the hoot of an owl to the horns of the city, from children giggling in the bath to the hushed notes of a lullaby… captures the many moods of bedtime” (from the cover jacket). Sixty poems collected by noted children’s authors Yolen and Peters include classic writers like Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Sylvia Plath as well as contemporary writers like Lee Bennett Hopikns and Mary Ann Hoberman.

“Wherever night falls/The earth is always there/To catch it” – Roger McGough

Karas’ illustrations are soft and inviting and add a peaceful quite to these poems from various parts of the English-speaking world including the United States, Australia, the Caribbean and Great Britain.

“In the absence of light/little shadows, in fright/cling tightly together/ And call themselves Night.” – Philip Waddell

An index of first lines, an index of poets and copyright acknowledgements are all included at the back of this book which would be a wonderful addition to any school library.

—Heidi Håvan Grosch, educator and children’s literature enthusiast