Night Is Coming

by W. Nikola-Lisa, Jamichael Henterly (Illustrator)

A child imagines everything and everyone on her grandfather's farm settling down at nightfall, in a soothing bedtime story complemented by glowing, full-color artwork. Reprint.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

W. Nikola-Lisa's interest in writing books for young readers began as an elementary school teacher. He is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Bein' With You This Way (Lee & Low), Shake Dem Halloween Bones (Houghton Mifflin) and the How We Are Smart (Lee & Low), recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award. As an accomplished storyteller and musician, Mr. Nikola-Lisa enjoys sharing his writing experiences with elementary and middle school students nationwide.

Reviews

[Erika Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, relaxing and restful descriptive and picturesque text. Gentle story of the coming of night. Content family together time watching the sunset out in nature of a farm.

[Stephen Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful painted and calming text. Almost a lullaby.

[Kathryn (Dragon Bite Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review originally published on my blog, Dragon Bite Books .

Overall, the text of this book is underwhelming, being of typical of the genre, although with some notes of specificity and poetry. The general story is of night coming to a farm and of the white grandfather and granddaughter watching the night descend. But the illustrations are STUNNING. This was a cover-buy for sure. What the text does do well, apart from being specific in its detail, is elicit more senses than many other texts, citing smell as well as sound and sight. The final three pages rise above the unimpressive text. The final three sentences are “Night is coming. Is coming. Is,” which is a beautiful touch of poetry and use of white space. The illustrations and the text (once referencing jack-o-lanterns, which squarely places this book in September or October) are autumnal.

[Kireja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book in one of my drawers, and remembered how much I loved this book as a child. The illustrations are absolutely glorious and the text soothing. Even after all these years, this book, about the sights, sounds, and feelings that arises as twilight becomes dusk and then night, brings me comfort. One of my favourite picture books of all time.

[Empanadani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful bedtime story. I'm glad I picked it up. I can hear the whippoorwill calling as the sun starts to set and the last minute rustling sounds as nightime approaches.
I loved the warm glow of the setting sun fading to reveal the rising silvery sheen of the moon. And the words fade away, too, as we all fall asleep.

It helps to read this on a quiet night.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. The images the magic of sunset and twilight. Every time I read it with my daughter it's a peaceful journey for both of us. One of my favorite picture books!

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another girl and her grandpa story.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lullaby in book form :)

[Annie Carbutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic - As night creeps up to the old farm, a little girl sits by her grandfather’s side and takes in all the splendor of the closing day. Before too long, she is fast asleep. This is a beautiful book. It points out the many beauties of a day coming to its close in the country somewhere. It points out sounds, sights and colors, feelings. It also slowly shortens the descriptions as the little girl becomes sleepy, as though she is slowly closing her eyes. This is a great book for teaching children to be aware of their surroundings and appreciate the beauty all around them.

[Mrs. Ruigrok]

My copy also has a cassette tape

[Shannon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A picture book about what I love-the country.

Beautifully yet simply told.

Great example of personification, too!