Firefly Mountain

by Patricia Thomas, Peter Sylvada (Illustrator)

A family experiences the magic of fireflies in this story of anticipation.
A young girl recalls a remarkable moment—how she waited patiently through a long, hot afternoon for night to fall so she and her family could make a journey to the top of a hill to see an amazing a multitude of blinking, winking, twinkling fireflies lighting up a nearby mountain.
Readers will be able to hear the whistles of the bobwhites and smell the sweet clover hay in Thomas’s richly detailed and lyrical prose. Illustrator Peter Sylvada’s stunning illustrations beautifully capture the wondrous tone of the story and the expectant child’s sense of awe as she looks at the fireflies dancing among the stars on top of Firefly Mountain.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Summer

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2007

About the author

Patricia Thomas was the author of several picture books, including Firefly Mountain; “Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!”; “There are Rocks in My Socks,” Said the Ox to the Fox; and The One-and-Only, Super-Duper, Golly-Whopper, Jim-Dandy, Really Handy Clock Tock Stopper. She taught writing for children at Marywood University and at the Institute for Children’s Literature. Thomas passed away in 2021.

Reviews

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Story was ok.

[Jezire C Akin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for teaching personification but a little slow for young readers.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been aware of this book for the purpose of reading as part of a writer's workshop lesson, but I'm not sure whether I've ever read it with the intention of finishing the entire story. That being said, I enjoyed it immensely. As I was already aware, it's extremely well written. It had a consistently appealing narrative flow that kept me engaged from beginning to end as well as some devastatingly gorgeous paintings to illustrate the night. I would like to hang a couple of the scenes in here on my living room wall. The contrast of light and dark is simply captivating.

[📚Linda Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

The creators of this children's book forgot the children. The passages are lyrical but too obtuse for young readers. The illustrations don't highlight the best of the story and are too abstract. The book fits the bill as an art object but not as a book for children.

[Mary Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family on a far enjoys a summer day. The children are waiting for nightfall when they might fireflies light up the darkness of the horizon. Nicely written but the illustrations are dark and muted and not appealing to children.

[Merrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never before have I wanted to rip pages from a book and frame them on my wall! Beautiful!

[Amy Lundebrek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this one.

[Yoo Kyung Sung]

Pretty!!! Language in this book is pretty..

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Notes:
didn't captivate the kids like it did me
maybe because their own experiences are so much better than a book

[Carrie Charley Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lyrical beauty in both word and illustration.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

read alike to Owl Moon