The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (May 5, 2008)
Amazon Price: $11.56
ISBN-10: 0618862447
ISBN-13: 978-0618862443
Source of book: Review copy from publisher


If you're looking for a soothing and memorable bedtime story that will lull your little one to sleep, look no further. Inspired by the cumulative poem, "This is the key of the kingdom," The House in the Night is a cumulative poem that begins with a father handing his small child a key to the house. When the child opens the door, we see a bed, and "on that bed waits a book. In that book flies a bird." The child imagines hopping on this bird's back and flying through the dark, seeing the moon, the sun on the moon's face, and back into the house where the child is tucked into bed by her mother and falls sound asleep.

The text itself is simple enough for a beginning reader to understand, and young children learning new words will enjoy the repetition of the common objects presented in the book:

"Through the dark glows the moon.
On the moon's face shines the sun.
Sun in the moon,
moon in the dark,
dark in the song,
song in the bird,
bird in the book,
book on the bed..."

Beth Krommes' detailed black and white scratchboard illustrations with splashes of a vibrant watercolor yellow throughout are AMAZING and add to the book's warm tone. I predict that children will love having this book read to them, and it's destined to become a classic that many families will enjoy for generations.


Other Bedtime Book Recommendations:
Who Will Sing a Lullaby?
In a Blue Room
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:
Book of the Day: The book as a whole is a quieter, gentler story than many others found in the children’s room. It would be perfect for a bedtime story, or for a quiet spell in the middle of a busy day. (Read more...)

Fuse #8: "Fifty years from now libraries and websites will be filled with queries from people asking, 'There's this book I've been trying to find from years. It took place at night and there was yellow . . . it was really gorgeous. Does anyone remember it?'" (Read more...)

A Patchwork of Books: "A very enjoyable bedtime story, you'll probably have to read again and again. " (Read more...)

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