Bright in the Night

A fascinating look at things that glow in the night, from the Northern Lights and celestial beings up in the dark, vast sky to things that shine on earth, such as animals’ eyes, luminous moss found in forests, mushrooms, insects, amphibians, birds and sea creatures.  Did you know that there are caves in New Zealand and Australia whose ceilings look like they’re covered in stars?  In reality, the caves are filled with glow worms that spin long, glowing threads that resemble shining beads.  There are also parts of the ocean like near the west coast of Sweden that glow with tiny bioluminescent plants.  Read about all of these phenomena and more in this illuminating exploration of night and its surprising elements of light.

Bright in the Night was written and illustrated by Lena Sjöberg and published by Thames & Hudson.  It’ll be out on January 14.

Winter Picture Books for Cold Months

Wishing everyone (an early) happy new new year!  We’re sharing some of the wintry books we’ll be reading next month.  Hope everyone’s been having a lovely end of December.  What are some of your favorite books to read as a family during these colder, darker weeks?  Follow along as we add more here to our Winter Books Highlights thread on Instagram. Happy reading and happy new year!

Below are links to each book’s original post or the book’s website.

Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter

The Night Iceberg

Snow by Walter De La Mare

Samson in the Snow

When the Moon Comes

Winter Sleep

The Tea Party in the Woods

The Shortest Day

The Reader

Into the Snow

The Snow Lion

The Love Letter

Little Penguins

Here Comes Jack Frost

All Right Already!: A Snowy Story

Otto The Book Bear in the Snow

Little Fox in the Snow

The Storm Whale in Winter

Sometimes Rain

365 Penguins

Look at the Weather

The Snow Day

White Snow Bright Snow

Over and Under the Snow

Bear and Wolf

The Snowy Day

Extra Yarn

Owl Moon

Lemonade in Winter

Penguin Problems

Mouse and Mole Winter Wonderland

Snow by Sam Usher

Snow Sisters

Houndsley and Catina Through the Seasons

The Big Snow

Snow by Uri Suhulevitz

Yay! My Celebration Journal + Giveaway

The latest book from Wee Society celebrates special days of the year, whether they be fun, funny or both — Static Electricity Day, National Backwards Day, Measure Your Feet Day, National Popcorn Day, Hug Your Cat Day, Morse Code Day and more.  Included are creative ideas that will make them memorable and a place to record the magical and quirky ways you’ve celebrated the year as a family.  Amongst the many surprises in the book are a perpetual calendar marked with 130 holidays inside the dust jacket and postcards for Send a Card to a Friend Day.  A fantastic book for the small and big celebratory moments of life.  It’ll be out on Tuesday, November 5.

We are partnering with Wee Society to give away three copies of Yay!: My Celebration Journal. Head over to this Instagram post to enter.

Most of the Better Natural Things in the World + Interview

We follow a tiger on her journey through breathtaking landforms, blown away by the majestic beauty of each, meanwhile asking ourselves why she’s carrying a chair and what is her ultimate destination?  The curiosity and splendor of this nearly wordless picture book is one you have to experience for yourself.

Most of the Better Natural Things in the World was written by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Angel Chang and published by Chronicle Books.  It’ll be out November 5.

What was the inspiration behind this book?

The initial inspiration for the book was simple ignorance. All my life there had been words for certain natural phenomena that I’d see in books and maps, but was unable to define or picture in my mind. I think I was about 40 when I had a clear idea of what an archipelago is, for example. Does everyone know exactly what an atoll is? Maybe not. So I thought for kids it might be fun to see these things that are beautiful and also have great, sometimes weird, words attached to them.

Where did the tiger and the chair come from?

Everything proceeded logically. If you have a character moving through these varied landscapes, that character is logically a white tiger. And if a white tiger is moving through all of this disparate terrain, she’s probably going to be carrying a chair. And if you’re carrying a chair, it’s because you’re late for dinner. 

How did you decide on which natural phenomena to include?

I started with the strangest words, really, and the more obscure terminology — stuff the average kid might not know. Words like archipelago and gorge and tundra and steppe had to be in there. To some extent, at that point we had to have certain landscapes that would logically connect certain land formations. And then, of course, the last one, taiga, was the idea of the book’s editor, Taylor Norman. We already had a tiger and all these land formations, and she emailed one day about the word taiga. It all clicked into place.

How did you and Angel Chang work together?

While still an art student in San Francisco, Angel had been an art intern at 826 Valencia, our nonprofit, and she’d created a beautiful calendar that was sold in our pirate shop. When I saw it, she seemed like the perfect artist to realize the book. When we met, I really just urged her to make the book her own — to be completely untethered, with her only mission the creation of the most beautiful book humanly possible. At that point she took over and sent us one gorgeous image after another.

What’s your own relationship to the natural world?

I’ve realized over the years that I really have to be around raw natural beauty on a regular basis. Otherwise I feel a bit off-kilter. But it can be anywhere, really — a tiny beach, or an empty field, or bike path through the woods. In the U.S. especially, there’s so much open land. You just have to take a step or two off the beaten path. 

Were you a nature-loving kid, and do you think this will appeal to nature-loving kids?

Kids are inherently in sync with the natural world. It’s where they belong. They need space to run and act like animals, and the natural world gives them that; there’s a symbiosis between young humans and nature that’s as old as our species. If you set a kid up in an estuary, they can entertain themselves all day. But we have to let them explore, and trust that they’ll be okay. As a kid, I remember spending the vast majority of my childhood outside. The Chicago suburbs didn’t have a lot of Grand-Canyonesque natural splendor, but we had innumerable trees, and ravines, and a lot of open land, and Lake Michigan, which is really an inland sea. And every season had limitless options, winter being, I thought at least, the most dramatic and beautiful and fun to goof around in. Even an icicle colonnade on the side of the garage was good for an afternoon.

Many thanks to author Dave Eggers for sharing this Q&A that delves into the creation of Most of the Better Natural Things in the World!

What's Cooking at 10 Garden Street?

Delicious smells are coming from 10 Garden Street this afternoon.  Is it Pilar’s smooth salmorejo sprinkled with serrano ham, Mister Singh’s creamy coconut dahl or Penelope and Miles’ wonderfully savory and tangy green rice?  Or all of the above?  Head over to 10 Garden Street to see what’s cooking and meet the diverse neighbors who come together like a family to not only share heartwarming food, but each other’s stories and lives as well.  Felicita Sala’s gorgeous and lush illustrations are part of what made this one of our most anticipated books this fall.

What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street?: Recipes for Kids From Around the World was written and illustrated by Felicita Sala and published by Prestel Junior.  It’ll be out on September 24.