Night Becomes Day [Paperback]

Richard McGuire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

In this innovative journey from night to day and back again, city evolves into country and rivers and streams evolve into oceans by the most subtle of associations and the most unpredictable of transformations. Richard McGuire's strikingly graphic and original illustrations give us a perspective on our world as we've never seen it before. "What seems deceptively simple often demands a second or third thought in this creative picture book...that will spark the imagination."-- Booklist, starred review. Richard McGuire won the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for The Orange Book (Universe/ Puffin). His illustrations have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, and other publications. He is also the author of What Goes Around Comes Around (Viking).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With '40s-style, airbrush-smooth illustrations and equally streamlined text, McGuire (The Orange Book) takes readers from country to city, summer to spring, dawn to dark. "Night becomes day/ And day becomes bright/ Bright becomes sun/ And sun becomes shine," begins the volume. Most key words logically flow into one another ("Mountain becomes peak... becomes valley"). Others take more of an imaginative leap: the sequence "Grass becomes food... becomes wool... becomes blanket" briskly links a grazing sheep to fibers to spinning and knitting. Readers zoom from a rural to an urban setting and back; the busy cycle concludes restfully with a dozing child snuggled in bed ("Dream becomes good... becomes night"). A certain aridity characterizes McGuire's hard-edged forms and brash fields of color, but the crisp compositions fairly whoosh by, particularly in scenes of commercial hustle and bustle. The author employs a mimimum of hues, placing retro yellows and powder-blues atop a white base, then jolting the eye with highlights of scarlet and grassy green. Visually and linguistically arresting. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?"Night becomes day," and evolves into an interesting sequence of events that mark the changes wrought by time and circumstances, until day finally becomes night and the whole order of succession can begin again. Most of the journey is a logical one, as "river becomes ocean," "hill becomes mountain," and "cold becomes snow"; however, a few of the concepts, e.g., "building becomes cloud" and "new becomes birthday" are perhaps a bit more of a stretch. Somewhat similar to Ann Jonas's Round Trip (Greenwillow, 1983) in terms of the implied cyclical nature of things, the book attempts to show the connections between the natural and human-made worlds and is generally successful, although it lacks the visual cleverness of Jonas's work. Printed on recycled paper, McGuire's title sports two-dimensional, graphic-style, colored-pencil cartoons that suggest an almost '50s look. The figures are done in simplistic lines in flat color tones, yet offer a definite sense of forward movement, which is in keeping with the progressive theme of the book. While not necessarily a first purchase, Night Becomes Day could work well as a participatory read-aloud, providing a pleasant way for young listeners to discover the interconnectedness of human activity and nature.?Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140558942
• ISBN-13: 978-0140558944
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Granny recommendation, August 16, 2009

By 

Ms. Gina Lloyd-thomas (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night Becomes Day (Viking Kestrel picture books) (Hardcover)

Night Becomes Day is a wonderful story which is simply and beautifully illustrated. A joy to read to my small grandson