Night Lights

by Steven Schnur, Stacey Schuett (Illustrator)

Each night before she goes to bed, Melinda counts the lights. Beginning with one, the night-light on her wall, she counts up to twenty airplanes. But she doesn't stop there! In ever greater panoramic sweeps, her imagination carries her farther and farther away from her home as she reaches big numbers such as fifty, one hundred, one thousand, all the way up to one million and the most distant lights of all - the stars in the sky. With a simple, poetic text and luminous artwork, Steven Schnur and Stacey Schuett have carried the counting book to new numerical heights.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2000

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a vivid book about a little girl who likes counting the lights at night before she goes to bed. The imagery is very soft and the portrayal of the lights is nice with a soft glow in most scenes. My daughter in particular got a kick out of how the number of lights suddenly increase toward the end, and she laughingly tries to count the thousands of lightning bolts, and then millions of stars. It is a good way to practice their numbers from 1 to 20, and also get ready for bed!

[Sara Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Informational book/poetry
Age: 3 and up
Summary: This counting book explores the inside of a girl named Melinda's house after dark, and the busy city outside her window at night. Melinda counts logs in the fire, street lights, headlights, tv sets shining through people's windows, and lanterns on the lawn.
Reflection: This is a great counting book with neat ideas and beautiful illustrations.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations.
Counts from one to twenty things in the neighborhood, and then jumps to fifty reflected moons, one hundred bolts of lightening, one thousand exploding fireworks, and one million stars.
I think it would be best for a child who is reading on their own, as you are obviously unable to count everything together. It is nice for admiring the illustrations of a city night....

[Nura · Rating 2 out of 5]

beautifully colored.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a barebones taste of writing. I like it for what it is though there isn't a lot to it. Still nicely done. Good counting book.

[JS · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best thing about this book: Getting to say the author and illustrator's names every time we read it to my daughter. Schnur! Schuett!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple, soothing counting book that depicts different lights at night. The narrative is short and the colors are muted. It would be good for a bedtime read.