Night in the Country [Paperback]

Cynthia Rylant (Author), Mary Szilagyi (Illustrator)

Book Description

There is no night so dark, so black as night in the country. And while the people dream of daytime things, the nighttime world awakens. Owls swoop, a rabbit patters, and in the yard an apple falls -- pump! -- from the tree.

Listen. Go to the window. Across the field a light glows. Who else is up so late? Who else watches and hears the sights and sounds of night in the country -- the many stirrings of silence, the many colors of the dark?

Lyrical text and velvety pictures present a very different kind of nighttime: a mysterious, moving night that will lull small children to sleep.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PW praised the "exceptionally beautiful illustrations" of this "remarkable picture book that sweeps the reader into the quiet, special world of a country night." Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 The pairing of Rylant and Szilagyi again results in a graceful blend of evocative prose and exquisite color-pencil drawings. Night in the Country explores the sights and sounds of the country's nighttime, from an apple falling to the ground"pump!"to a dog's chain clinking as the animal drinks water. Rich with nuances, the images and sounds evoked by the text have brought forth deeply shadowed drawings by the artist; likewise, the text will conjure up vivid imaginings in the minds of young children. The journey through nighttime fittingly concludes that night animals "will spend a day in the country listening to you." Each page invites children to look, listen and explore. Night in the Country is a welcome addition to that prized collection of rhythmic, soothing nighttime readings. Anne E. Mulherkar, formerly at District of Columbia Public Lib .
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (March 31, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689714734
• ISBN-13: 978-0689714733
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( R ) > Rylant, Cynthia
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fiction
  • #42 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Bedtime & Dreaming

More About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is the author of numerous distinguished novels and picture books for young readers. In addition to her beginning-reader series: Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, and Mr. Putter and Tabby, as well as her Cobble Street Cousins early-chapter series, she is also the author of the Newbery Medal-winning Missing May, the Newbery Honor Book A Fine White Dust, and two Caldecott Honor-winning picture books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Author paints picturesque Appalachian landscape, June 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Night in the Country (Paperback)

As in her book, "When I Was Young in the Mountains," Cynthia Rylant's "Night in the Country" paints a picturesque landscape of Appalachia. Warm country nights, cool breezes, fireflies and other common sights highlight this book. The art is beautifully calming.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the poetry of night time, August 5, 2005

By 

D. Lowery (San Ramon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night in the Country (Paperback)

An awesome, quiet book. Rylant appreciates the simple beauty of night time sounds, from a creaking house getting comfortable for rest to an old pig rolling over in the straw to a sleeping dog's chain clinking. All quiet sounds that deserve observation. What initially caught my eye was the reference to a screen door closing in the night and the wonder of who might be up that late--I have often thought about things like that and I appreciated someone else's observation of the same thing. And what sold me on the book is when my four-year-old, after several months of none-interest in the book suddenly asked if I would read this book so he could wonder too about the person whose screen door closed in the night--obviously, Rylant's poetry in her prose is endearing and indelible. Szilagyi's artwork is appropriate to the text, neither overwhelming or boring. She has a nice, sublte touch that complement's the poetry of the book. Highly recommended

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From One Who Knows, July 7, 2001

By 

"jasek" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night in the Country (Paperback)

I bought this title for Grandma to read to her Grandkids and decided to keep it for our home. This is an excellent portrait of what life really is like in the country: the blackness, the soft sounds, the swooping owl. A great find for parents to read to kids to follow up on a visit to a relative in the country.