Mother Night [Hardcover]

Denys Cazet (Author)

Book Description

The baby animals go to sleep as Mother Night hushes the earth and then wake up to a new day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Mother Night comes "to shake her dark quilt / and let dreams tumble down," animal parents put their children to sleep. Mother Mouse sings to her children, and they dream of an orchestra of bewigged pigs and hippos; the fox children dream of riding their bucking bronco fourposter to save the ranch from a gigantic Mother Goose. The parents lovingly awaken their children when morning comes and the world is "edged in dawn." The antics of the animals are distinct from the world outside their windows, except during the dream sequences where the real and imagined worlds are joined. Inside their cozy houses, theywear bathrobes, drink tea and cuddle in easy chairs, but outside, Cazet's ( A Fish in His Pocket ) sensitive watercolors portray a world of serene beauty where stars dot the landscape like snow, and black ravens are silhouetted above the pines. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- As in Frosted Glass (Bradbury, 1987), Cazet portrays a young daydreamer with humor and understanding. Maxine, an energetic but easily distracted young feline, is instructed by her parents to "Walk straight to school. Straight as an arrow." With an exclamation of "Twang" she is on her way, following their instructions literally. However, she soon finds herself caught up in climbing ladders, growling down manhole covers, and dancing with street performers before remembering her destination. Framed fragments of illustrations are overlapped and present a variety of perspectives which may therefore require the concentration of older, more sophisticated picture book perusers to follow Maxine accurately on her nearly wordless odyssey (all text is in dialogue balloons), but clever use of white space and careful design maintain the necessary structure to participate in her cheerful chaos. --Starr LaTronica, North Berkeley Library, Calif.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; Ex-library edition (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531058301
• ISBN-13: 978-0531058305
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,231,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Mother Night (Hooked on Phonics, Book 28), January 14, 2009

By 

Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mother Night (Hooked on Phonics, Book 28) (Paperback)

ISBN 1887942491 - Having been on a roll of very good books from Hooked on Phonics, I'm a little sad to have been yanked to a stall with Mother Night.

Various animals put their children to sleep as Mother Night settles over the world. When night is done, the same animals wake their children.

HOP books are, obviously, intended to improve reading skills and that, in my opinion, is where this one goes wrong. Denys Cazet has written a story that is clearly a bedtime tale. It is soothing to the point of... yes, putting you to sleep. As a tuck-your-kid-in book, awesome. As a book with which you learn to read, I'm afraid it could bore one to sleep. The illustrations are very peaceful, quite pastel (which I find unattractive) and set the tone for the text with amazing accuracy. The text is simple, which is a plus. I just don't see it engaging a budding, struggling reader.

- AnnaLovesBooks

4.0 out of 5 stars Good morning Maxine has good pictures, June 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Morning! Maxine! (Library Binding)

I like this book because the pictures are good. The illustrations and the story are by Denys Cazet.I really like the art style of ink and water colors. This was only one of my favorite books from Denys Cazet!