Night Light

by Nicholas Blechman

Count the nighttime lights on a train, a helicopter, a fire truck, and seven more vehicles in this bold picture book with die-cut surprises.

1 light, shining bright? A train!
7 lights, flashing red and white? A fire truck!

And so on all the way to ten lights. Part guessing game, part counting book, NIGHT LIGHT is a boldly imagined book for the preschool child who loves cars, trucks, and anything that goes. With die-cuts on every other page, this rhyming story features vehicles and counting, combining a high interest preschool subject with important preschool concepts.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Counting, Transport, Childrens, Mathematics, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Nicholas Blechman is an internationally recognized illustrator, designer, and art director. His award-winning illustrations have appeared in GQ, Travel + Leisure, Wired, and the New Yorker. He is currently the art director of the New York Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Brandy Painter · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son LOVES this book. The way the illustrations are cut to show the lights shining in the dark, and then when you flip the page the dark spots on the light scene are so much fun. He loves counting the lights, and then the dark spots.

It is REALLY annoying thought that the last illustration is actually on the end page so the slip cover is over half of it. Makes it hard to appreciate that last WONDERFUL illustration, particularly if its a library copy and you can't move it out of the way.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice graphic design and clever die cuts. My son's favorite subject: vehicles.
Design flaw: The last page is also the back cover,which you have to take the book jacket off to see ...and of course, if it's a library book, you can't really do that.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool concept. My son loves this book! I appreciate the creativity of the illustrations even though the style isn't a personal favorite.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hit with my almost two year old. Simple and clever.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is geared for a 2-3 year old. It includes counting and some repetition.

[Mama Bibliosoph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Light is a counting book about vehicles that incorporates a clever die cut technique. Each number is introduced by a guess-the-vehicle introduction on a two-page, all-black spread.

1 LIGHT, SHINING BRIGHT? the first page asks. The right-facing page has a small circular hole that reveals a white color. Turn the page and we see that it's the headlamp of a train bursting out of a tunnel! As the book progresses, the number of die cut "lights" goes up and the little holes appear in all different sizes, colors, shapes, and placements on the page.

Die cut books provide nice tactile and visual sensory integration for children, and guess-what format books are social interaction gold. I love that the last spread returns to the number one, and reveals a child reading Night Light in bed, all the vehicles we have identified are strewn across his bedroom floor.

If your child loves vehicles this one is a must-have.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A counting book from 1 to 10.

The illustrations are bright graphics. The things you count are lights -- they show through as lights of various colors through page cutouts on a black page to the next page.

Each number is two 2-page spreads.

Example:
1st 2 page spread (black background)
left page -- 1 LIGHT, SHINING BRIGHT?
right page -- one hole showing through to next page as white

2nd 2 page spread
large graphic of a train
words: TRAIN

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cutouts make images of lights next to descriptions of the light images, prompting the audience to guess what might have lights situated as depicted. The following page reveals the object with the lights (taxi, tugboat, school bus, etc.) with related context for further discussion. Language is simple while also introducing new words. Text is large, but potentially difficult to read at a distance, detracting from storytime possibilities.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Light is a book geared more towards younger children who are just beginning to read. The book gives a small preview of what the lights are for on the next page counting one through ten. This book can make for a fun guessing game with young children but it can also teach them of many service and utility vehicles around the city.

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A counting (up to 10) book that is also a guessing game! Small circle die-cuts appear to let light(s) peak through each blackened page as you attempt to guess the vehicle before flipping the page to the reveal.

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little one really enjoy this book. She wanted to read it over and over. It's a very simple book, perfect for young toddlers. My only complaint is the inconsistent size of the dots/lights made them hard to count sometimes.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept book for numbers/counting, with high interest theme of vehicles.
Each page is a number with a short description with a dark page with respective number holes.
When you flip the page, you see a vehicle with that number of lights.
Kids love to count the lights and you can even have them guess/recall what vehicle it will be.

One thing others have mentioned as well: can confirm that in a library book the last page is tough because of the attached slipcover.

[Kama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational Nonfiction
Pre-K

I really enjoyed this book because you can guess what vehicle the author is talking about, and see the results on the next page. I used this book in a pre-school classroom and the kids loved it. They were so anxious to see if their prediction was right. I also also like this because young children can "read" this book on their own just by looking at the pictures. A great book to include when learning about vehicles and transportation.

[Glenn Hoban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a clever book to help children think abstractly and practice counting and guessing! Essential to any transportation theme in a young child's school.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept, great execution. Kids who love bug trucks will eat this one up.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's simple and the brightly colored pages offsest the black pages. The black pages have cut-outs where lights from something on the next page shine through.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Children liked guessing what vehicle was based on the lights. The illustrations included cut outs and high contrast colors. A great storytime read aloud that includes counting.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for storytime (counting too)

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess the picture book that also includes counting. Kids who love automobiles will especially love this book. Great for toddlers thru kindergarten-age children.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Storytime November 7, 2018
Theme: Counting

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

98/365

[Ww · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever designed, and a trick on the last page.

[Victoria Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to show kids numbers and also a good interactive book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean lines, bright colors. Fun read.

[Victoria Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun guessing what the vehicle will be.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a counting and clue book.
Clever way to learn different lights on various vehicles around town.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

clever cutouts

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative use of die cuts within the book. Meat connection to types of transportation. Not a lot of text.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with Kaylynn 1 nov 2023

[Jennavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic resource to make practicing counting more fun for toddlers and their parents. The art is really clever and makes counting fun.