Creatures of the Night

Stephen Brooks

Creatures of the Night is a delightful tale of the world of nocturnal creatures. Inspired by his daughter's incessant questions regarding nightly noises, Steve Brooks decided to write about the creatures that come out to play when we lay our heads down to sleep.

Children are fascinated, and sometimes intimidated, by this world that exists in the darkness. This beautifully illustrated rhyming tale allows them to associate playful, fun characters with the sounds and noises they hear.

This story is sure to help your child drift off to a peaceful sleep with charming images of singing toads, dancing fireflies and other creatures that come out to play when the sun goes down.

Review by Molly Martin (130706) Rating (9/10)

Review by Molly Martin
Creatures of the Night begins as long shadows form, day is ending and night is soon to come. The moon and stars appear, daytime animals seek shelter and night creatures venture out. Raccoon, a regal barn owl, field mice, crickets, and singing toads and frogs all join the nighttime adventure. Dancing lightening bugs, a coyote, a mother opossum and her babies, and swimming muskrats walk and jump and run. At last the night creatures begin to seek safety, the sun is returning and day will soon begin.

Author Brooks and Illustrator Wilson have produced a delightful work for children. Creatures of the Night is a 32 page picture type work. The narrative is told in verse. Illustrations are child friendly.
I took the book to school to read to my fourth grade: they are my resident critics. They take their job as critical listeners very seriously. The children expressed curiosity, regard and interest in the book. They liked the poetry, the narrative and the illustrations. One girl felt the smiles on faces of the insects were inappropriate…. ‘real’ insects do not have smiley faces, however she felt the illustration was appropriate for this book, ‘it IS for little kids.’

While the target audience for the Creatures of the Night is more targeted to the 3 – 7 set, it is a work that holds appeal to the 8 – 10 group as they choose a book to read to younger brothers and sisters. Creatures of the Night is a read-to for the younger set ages 3 – 7, a read alone for the 8 – 10 group.

I too enjoyed the narrative, the illustrations and the poetry. Because I live ‘out in the country’ the critters mentioned in this book are all very familiar to me. I am finding Creatures of the Night to be a worthwhile addition to our class library shelf. Creatures of the Night is being taken for ‘free reading’ time by youngsters who are reading and enjoying it for themselves as they ready themselves to read to the kindergarten children each Monday.

Creatures of the Night is a good addition to the homeschool reading curriculum, the classroom library and children’s personal reading shelf.
Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend.
Molly Martin (13th July 2006)