Night Walk

by Sara O'Leary, Ellie Arscott (Illustrations)

A child explores her neighborhood on a late-night walk with her dad, finding delight and comfort in moments of quiet and the warm windows into other people’s lives. When a little girl can’t sleep one night, her dad asks if she’d like to go for a walk. They tiptoe through the silent house and step out into the dark. It’s strange and exciting to be out so late. Walking down the street, the girl can see inside the lit-up windows of apartment buildings and houses where people’s lives are unfolding. Kids are having a pillow fight in one house, while a family has gathered for a festive meal in another. She and her dad reach the still-busy shopping area, walking past restaurants and enticing store windows, then stop for a tranquil moment in the park before returning home. Sara O’Leary has captured a child’s nighttime wonder as she explores her neighborhood and comes to the comforting realization that she belongs. Ellie Arscott’s illustrations, luminous and rich in color, perfectly complement the story. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Nature, Canada, Fiction, Contemporary

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 29, 2020

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quiet book. Beautiful illustrations.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"and in the living room, my mother was sleeping in front of the television because she likes to watch movies with her eyes shut" this is me in a book 🤣 because this is how I tend to watch movies these days.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

One night, a young girl, our narrator, was supposed to be sleeping, but she was wide awake. When he noticed she wasn't sleeping, her dad suggested they go for a walk. They tiptoes past her sleeping baby brother, her older sister reading in bed, and her mom watching television with her eyes closed. Once outside, everything seemed new and different. With lights on, they could look into people's homes and see what they are doing. Out narrator could see that the sad looking lady isn't so sad after all, that a big family is having a meal too late for dinner, but too early for supper. And she is very surprised to find that there are some many people out and about, walking dogs, riding the bus, eating in restaurants at a time she should have been in bed and asleep. When her dad tells her that as a boy he lived in in the country with no close neighbors, our narrator thinks about how she has lived surrounded by people she knows and people she doesn't know, that where she lives is home and that that is where she belongs. I was afraid my young readers might have a negative reaction to this book because they haven't always lived here. But most of them have been out at night in our neighborhood and agreed with the narrator that everything looks and feels different at night. Interestingly, they seemed for find this story reassuring in some way, but could explain it. They did find the illustrations, which were done in watercolor and ink pen, to be very friendly (their word), but so did I. We live in NYC, but there are some private homes in the area as well as apartments over stores, so on some level, I think the illustrations felt somewhat familiar and "friendly."

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

If falling asleep isn’t possible, it might be a good idea to get up and do something else for a while instead!

Some of my favorite sections were the ones that showed the main character’s reactions to the evening lives of the people in her neighborhood whom she normally saw under very different circumstances. For example, there was a local shop owner who often looked sad during the day when she sold snacks and other items to the community. What this woman’s life was like at night surprised both me and the protagonist. Children don’t always realize that people’s behavior can change in various parts of their lives, so it was lovely to see it explored here.

I did find the ending abrupt. An important part of the plot was never resolved by the final scene. While I can see an argument for the idea that readers were supposed to come up with our own ideas about how that played out, it still would have been helpful to have more direction there. This was something I’d expect to answer questions about if I were to read it to the little ones in my life.

There were some beautiful turns of phrases here that painted vivid images in my mind. For example, an early scene described the main character and her father walking past an “island of light” from a streetlamp and nearby house as they began their walk. These phrases were easy to understand but wonderfully poetic as well. I smiled every time I found a new one.

Night Walk was such a peaceful bedtime story.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humans tend to shelter inside at day's end. Some activities are better enjoyed and accomplished within their homes. If we should venture outside, a whole new world greets us. In the absence of light, shadows rule, creating new forms. Our senses of hearing and smelling are heightened.

When homes are passed during our exploration of the world at night, we see scenes inside them rarely observed during daylight hours. It's as if we have stepped into a magical realm. Night Walk (Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press, September 29, 2020) written by Sara O'Leary with illustrations by Ellie Arscott is an enchanting excursion through a neighborhood during the evening hours.

My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not previously read any reviews of this title and I was very pleasantly surprised. While I would not say these illustrations are done in a spectacular art form, they are so detailed of real life in the beginning pages that I was hooked, the child’s room, the baby brother sleeping bottom in his crib, the older sister on the top bunk with headphones, and Mom asleep on the sofa.
Then the illustrations of Dad and daughter taking a walk through their working class neighborhood as the daughter sees her neighborhood at night, with a different perspective. The text and illustrations are well integrated and the text is descriptive of the new awareness the daughter is seeing and headed is allowing her to speak with no comment from him.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A child is wide awake in bed, long after they should be asleep. So the father invites them to go on a walk together. Along the way, they see so many different homes and activities happening around town, deep into the night. The father shares how his childhood was so different since he grew up out in the country where he rarely saw another home or neighbor. It’s quite a thoughtful book that will provide some discussion about what’s happening at night in different locations. The illustrations were done in watercolor and ink pen on paper.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly common picture book theme of what is happening in the world when kids are asleep, but with a difference: The girl just can't sleep and her Dad says,"hey, let's go out and take a walk." Special in that she gets to see this other--night--world, but especially special in that she gets this opportunity to see it with her Dad. The story is like most Sara O'Leary stories, quiet and contemplative, lowering your and your kid's heart rate as you read, with lovely art consistent with the themes. Very sweet.

My favorite aspect of this one, however, is actually the artwork of Ellie Arscott, who makes small town buildings appear warm and inviting. Just beautiful. As the girl holds her father's hand, the art here is like visual hand-holding.

[Meg Sodano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara O’Leary’s Night Walk is a delightful book about seeing your surroundings from a different perspective and appreciating the beauty in your own neighborhood. The story is told quietly, and the slow pace gives the reader time to notice the thoughtful details in Ellie Arscott’s illustrations. The pictures (watercolor and ink) take the characters (and us too) along nearby streets, past people and pets in houses and on sidewalks. There are restaurants, stores, buses, and bikes – so many things to see! This book is a perfect bedtime book. (Or maybe not. It might make your kiddos want to go outside for a night walk!)

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice one which I could have seen myself really enjoying as a kid because it's not just about going out walking at night but there's the sort of condoned rebellion of going out AFTER it's already bedtime because you just can't sleep. A girl and her father roam around their city at night after everyone else has gone to bed and see what's going on, and he shares how different the city is from where he grew up. Great addition to those other late night rambling reads like City Moon, Windows, The Moon Jumpers, The Way Home in the Night, or the similarly named The Night Walk by Marie Dorleans

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss for an advanced copy. I really liked the idea of something as simple as a walk opening up a whole new world; this probably deepened the connection between the father and daughter; I know that when I was young, it was not easy for me to imagine my dad as a child growing up. Now to go take a walk down my street in the and try not to feel like a voyeur.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl takes a walk with her dad when she can't seem to fall asleep. She passes by homes and finds many lights on showing people doing their nightly activities. Upon returning home she is happy she knows where she belongs, at home with family.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child can't sleep so Dad takes her for a walk after dark. They walk around the city and see what happens in homes and businesses in the late evening. Lovely illustrations capture the reality of life in so many different ways. A bit of a concern about peeking in strangers' windows.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a night when a little girl can't fall asleep, her father takes her on a night walk through their city. The little girl feels more connected to her father, her neighbors, and her city.

Cute story. I think I like Windows by Julia Denos more than this.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful book that shows how different your neighbour hood can look like after dark in a city or town. It’s like exploring a new world and getting a new perspective on people in a different setting than you normally see them. The illustrations are gentle with lots of detail.

[Anneke Alnatour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book, and perfect before going to bed. What happens outside when it is night?

Loved the window with the group of people celebrating an iftar in Ramadan (at least, the kids and I assumed it was)

[superawesomekt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a lovely little book about a simple moment (a girl's night walk with her dad). I liked the illustrations and it reminded me of simple moments that I still remember from my childhood. Holding my dad's hand. Very sweet.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this story of a special space of time a child shares with their father. This could be really comforting to a child who maybe feels a little alone during the night time (and also shows us something we can do when we can’t sleep).

[Nichole Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story didn't really go anywhere, but I as I love looking in people's windows as I pass by on a walk, I love the idea of a cozy, close-knit community, and I liked the illustration style, I enjoyed this.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl can't sleep one night, so her dad takes her for a quiet walk around the block. In the dark everything in the neighbourhood seems different and interesting in a new way. Lovely illustrations.

[Latifah S Ningrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book is like thinking about what people do at night? Because every night when I'am tired from activities, I want to rest, what about the others?
Even so, the illustrations in this book really showing the calm of he night.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

a perfect little picture book that shows the magic of night walks

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Quite story with soft lovely illustrations.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, quiet and reflective. This is a perfect choice for a bedtime story and snuggle.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle story of child who unable to sleep goes for a walk with her father. Lovely illustrations, as we peek into the other houses in town, and peer at the night sky.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely told. I love the specificity of the illustrations -- I could really feel the neighbourhood.

[Frie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best picture book I have read all year. Beautiful, dreamy illustrations and wonderfully crafted prose. Written by a Canadian!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it. Super charming, possibly because I love looking into lit windows at night too.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/9/2022 ~ There's something magical about walking in the dark. Glimpses of others' lives help us gain perspective on our own.