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When the Sky Is Like Lace
Describes the strange and splendid things that can happen on a night when the sky is like lace, including a party where anyone who knows the secret rules can attend.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1975
1 person is currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Elinor Lander Horwitz
21 books3 followersElinor Lander Horwitz writes freelance for the Washington Star News. She is the author of a number of books for young and adult readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 27, 2019
"On a bimulous night, the sky is like lace," begins Elinor Lander Horwitz's charming and highly idiosyncratic narrative, in which singing otters, sulking snails, and swaying trees all play their part. On such a night, it is best to be prepared, and to remember the rules: don't speak to rabbits, don't scratch your nose, and don't wear any orange. Oh! And make sure to bring lots of spaghetti, for the otters...
A charming little book, delightfully absurd and utterly magical, When the Sky Is Like Lace will draw young readers into its moonlit world, inviting them to partake of its beauty and joy. Barbara Cooney, two-time Caldecott medalist, contributes gorgeous watercolors whose mysterious and dream-like qualities perfectly complement Horwitz's tale. Simply beautiful - thank you, Kathryn!
A charming little book, delightfully absurd and utterly magical, When the Sky Is Like Lace will draw young readers into its moonlit world, inviting them to partake of its beauty and joy. Barbara Cooney, two-time Caldecott medalist, contributes gorgeous watercolors whose mysterious and dream-like qualities perfectly complement Horwitz's tale. Simply beautiful - thank you, Kathryn!
July 30, 2009
I was absolutely charmed by this magical little poetic story. It centers around the happenings of a "bimulous night" when "the sky is like lace." (So far as I know, "bimulous" is a term coined by Horwitz to describe such a sky.) When these nights happen, "everything is strange-splendid and plum-purple" and otters sing and join you for a spaghetti dinner (make sure you don't wear anything orange!) and the trees go swaying and swishing "in the fern-deep grove at the midnight end of the garden." It's odd, it's charming, it's lyrical and it's magical! And Barbar Cooney's illustrations are the perfect compliment. Here's to bimulous nights!
November 28, 2016
I could give this book a million stars. I often checked it out of the library when I was a child. When I started to look for it to own in the early 2000s used copies were going for hundreds of dollars. My friend asked me if this book was touched by the hand of God since it was going for so much used. Needless to say I was ecstatic when it was reissued in 2004, yet I still never bought a copy. I asked for it for Christmas and received it. As of now the lowest price on Amazon is $71.01.
I will always look up on the sky on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace and recite the start of this book. The prose is magical and the illustrations by Barbara Cooney are beautiful. A favorite quote of mine is,
" You will also find that, on bimulous nights when they sky is like lace, the grass is like gooseberry jam. It's not really squooshy like jam, because then the otter's feed would slurp around the snails might drown. It only smells like gooseberry jam. But if you walk barefoot, it feels like the velvet inside a very old violin case."
I will always look up on the sky on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace and recite the start of this book. The prose is magical and the illustrations by Barbara Cooney are beautiful. A favorite quote of mine is,
" You will also find that, on bimulous nights when they sky is like lace, the grass is like gooseberry jam. It's not really squooshy like jam, because then the otter's feed would slurp around the snails might drown. It only smells like gooseberry jam. But if you walk barefoot, it feels like the velvet inside a very old violin case."
December 18, 2021
Quirky and imaginative!
May 31, 2017
If you are the sort who savors words and tosses unrelated thoughts together like a salad you will eat up this book, perfectly illustrated by the inimitable Barbara Cooney. (This should have won a Caldecott)!
"On a bimulous night, the sky is like lace."
I remember a night like this. I noticed the sky while driving home from work. I told all my children to get in the van while I grabbed a large blanket. We went to the park and walked right out into the middle and arranged the blanket on the grass. We sat there together, looking up at the sky, not saying anything. And then we talked. And tried to capture the moment.
"On a bimulous night, the sky is like lace."
I remember a night like this. I noticed the sky while driving home from work. I told all my children to get in the van while I grabbed a large blanket. We went to the park and walked right out into the middle and arranged the blanket on the grass. We sat there together, looking up at the sky, not saying anything. And then we talked. And tried to capture the moment.
October 2, 2009
Truly magical.
Bimulous. I’m surprised the word hasn’t caught on; I’d never heard of it until I read this book. What a lovely word. “On a bimulous night when the sky is like lace…”
The illustrations are beautiful and unusual, and the story is certainly original.
Bimulous. I’m surprised the word hasn’t caught on; I’d never heard of it until I read this book. What a lovely word. “On a bimulous night when the sky is like lace…”
The illustrations are beautiful and unusual, and the story is certainly original.
September 4, 2016
One of my all time favorite children's books. I checked this one out of the library so often that my Mother remembered it. When the library purged their collection, she brought it home and gave it to me.
October 29, 2017
Wow! This is one unusual book. It's got the right amount of ridiculous oddity, delivered in a very straightforward tone. The illustrations are some of Cooney's best - the fantastical text allows her to come up with wonderful surreal images.
May 8, 2021
Lovely, whimsically takes me back to the magic of my childhood nights, looking at the stars and the sky.
July 29, 2017
A childhood favorite -- I loved this vividly descriptive book when I was little but forgot what it was called! For years, I asked if anyone remembered the book where "everything turns purple at night and the ground feels like jam and there are three girls dancing in their nightgowns" and -- after lots of raised eyebrows -- someone finally connected the dots and remembered the name of this wonderful book. Initially it was very, very hard to find, but I finally snagged a copy and enjoyed it all over again! To my surprise, I had not retained all the fantastic animal mini-subplots, so it was like discovering these for the first time (lol offended snails, NO RABBITS). This book is a charmer, full of fun words, environmental details, mischievous creatures, a nighttime beach, and yes, three girls dancing in their nightgowns. If you can find it, it's a treat.
October 27, 2023
Throughout the 1970s, my mother, my little sister Lucy, and I took this book out of the library week after week. We’d borrow the limit up to one and cave and add it again. We just thought it was so romantic. And we all three still go outside into our cross-country purple sky nights and say, “Ah! A bimulous night!”
March 30, 2019
Cute, nonsensical yet joyfully descriptive book that celebrates one aspect of the night. A fun read that could be made fun voice acting while wearing costumes. Enjoy!
December 16, 2021
Probably in my top two earliest memories of books.
February 28, 2010
"On a bimulous night, the sky is like lace..." ...magic is in the air and on the pages of this beautifu children's book. Singing otters, lucky pennies, and trees that "dance the eucalyptus" await.
"When the otters are tuning their voices,
And the snails are lining up two by two,
And the trees are aslant at the midnight end of the garden,
And the sky--the sky--Oh, look at the sky!"
I really enjoyed this one, and suspect my childhood self would've loved it, too. Pretty illustrations and great use of imagery...I was impressed at the author's ability to pick (or make up) the perfect word to fit the subject.
"When the otters are tuning their voices,
And the snails are lining up two by two,
And the trees are aslant at the midnight end of the garden,
And the sky--the sky--Oh, look at the sky!"
I really enjoyed this one, and suspect my childhood self would've loved it, too. Pretty illustrations and great use of imagery...I was impressed at the author's ability to pick (or make up) the perfect word to fit the subject.
July 30, 2015
Visually stunning, lyrically written, and captivating overall.
I always am on the lookout for unique children's books, both for their art (which I do a lot of illustration myself) as well as to collect for any future child I might have (silly yes, but collecting children's books is a joy).
I discovered this book at a neighbor's yardsale and fell in love with it, it's absolutely gorgeous visually, and the story isn't half bad either. I wish I could frame some of the art in here on my wall.
Love it!
I always am on the lookout for unique children's books, both for their art (which I do a lot of illustration myself) as well as to collect for any future child I might have (silly yes, but collecting children's books is a joy).
I discovered this book at a neighbor's yardsale and fell in love with it, it's absolutely gorgeous visually, and the story isn't half bad either. I wish I could frame some of the art in here on my wall.
Love it!
June 7, 2016
Beautifully illustrated story of what happens on a bimulous night when the sky is like lace. Alice loved the admonition not to wear orange, not even underneath, and the idea of pineapple spaghetti. We also had fun trying to find all the presents and different activities you might want to do on a bimulous night when the sky is like lace, or as Alice said, "a purple night!" Except for one page which she thought was more "blue." Thank Polly Hollar Pauley for the birthday gift. It will be enjoyed all year long!
June 23, 2007
i don't actually own this book but it was my favorite picture book to check out from the library when i was little. it is super creative, whimsical and gorgeous. I ordered a used copy for my niece and the illustrations weren't as lush as I remembered them to be, but I hope she enjoyed the story. It is out of print for some dumb reason--something that I hope changes in the near future...
It reminds me of songs by the band Belly.
It reminds me of songs by the band Belly.
October 14, 2014
I don't love the words of this book as much as I love the illustrations. I did an Author's Study presentation on the author/illustrator Barbara Cooney for my son's class and loved seeing the way her craft developed over her career. While I love "Miss Rumphius" and "The Ox-Cart Man," this book demonstrates her exquisite use of lighting and shadows. It's an ethereal read: especially appropriate, I think for the month of October.
August 16, 2025
this was a very cozy book with pretty pictures! it is auntie em’s favorite
January 24, 2018
A friend of mine sent me this when she found it and thought of me and I couldn't be happier that she did. I'd never heard of this at all but am just delighted by its weird playfulness. There are some Carroll-esque words like "bimulous" and "gourami"--who knows what those are, but you roll with it because that's what you do when the sky is bimulous and gouramis are kissing.
The illustrations here are just this side of eerie with a lot of blues and blacks and three Victorian-looking girls who are our guides through this lace-sky night. The abandonment of things that "actually" happen pulls out the best of what children's books can do: this invites you to be seriously silly and to imagine, to look cross-eyed at the world and see that in point of fact trees do dance and snails sulk and all manner of magic happens that has nothing to do with spells and everything to do with wonder.
And, of course, the whole book is littered with otters, and if you want my attention for anything you will certainly get it by including otters because they are hands-down the best.
The illustrations here are just this side of eerie with a lot of blues and blacks and three Victorian-looking girls who are our guides through this lace-sky night. The abandonment of things that "actually" happen pulls out the best of what children's books can do: this invites you to be seriously silly and to imagine, to look cross-eyed at the world and see that in point of fact trees do dance and snails sulk and all manner of magic happens that has nothing to do with spells and everything to do with wonder.
And, of course, the whole book is littered with otters, and if you want my attention for anything you will certainly get it by including otters because they are hands-down the best.
June 27, 2025
I have read this book to my children only once, and they have never wanted me to read it again. I really thought we were all going to love it based on the title (and the illustrations, which Barbara Cooney did beautiful well). We tend to like unusual children’s books, so I decided to read it a dozen more times over the course of a few months to figure out why I didn’t like it. To me it tries so hard to create a clever and silly world, but it misses the mark. The only part I remember fondly is the bit about holding the handkerchief up to the moon, but even that I felt was a let down as it could have been so much more wonderful. There was nothing here, not really. No sense of wonder to take away into the world, no questions to ponder.
September 15, 2020
This fantastical story is told with text that invites comparison to T. S. Elliott's SONG OF THE JELLICLE CATS, this ethereal and magical telling of what to expect on a "bimulous". The illustrations buy the marvelous Barbara Cooney demand contrived vocabulary, too, in the smallest details, sprawling moody spreads, and progression from cover-to-cover. Every image revealed within the twilight-toned endpapers captures exactly the right degree of wonderful weirdness and wildness with gracefully gentle joy.
February 18, 2020
This little book is beautiful - I want someone to read it aloud to .... the word pictures that it paints are totally complimented by the beautiful illustrations. I want to sing with the otters or ride a camel bareback or tickle an elephant on the next Bimulous night.
November 7, 2025
I used to, as a high school student, sit in the children's section of the library to read this book. Full of young girls and otters, and dancing in the moonlight. I bought it to have on the shelf for my grandkids.
September 5, 2017
I love the use of language!
May 2, 2019
I found this book to have beautiful words and wonderful images. I enjoyed the fancifulness of it.
July 29, 2019
Spooky.
February 2, 2021
I learned three new words today! This book is charming!
November 8, 2024
This was charming in a way I didn't anticipate.
December 9, 2010
UPDATE: I finallly found a copy I could afford! The cheapest one I could find at first was $46 and they went up from there. But I searched for several months on eBay and finally found one for $10. More than a year has gone by since I initially reviewed this book, so I read it aloud to Logan again and he loved it! His language skills are so much stronger now than when he was 5 1/2 and he got the jokes. He loves otters, so that helped too. So glad to have my own copy. Increased our review from 4 stars to 5.
ORIGINAL REVIEW, 10/12/09: If I were rating this book just for myself, I'd give it 5 stars, which is a rarity for me. Both the text and the illustrations are charming and fun to read aloud. I'm giving it 4 stars because while Logan asked to check it out from the library so we could read it again at home, I think it was confusing for him because it's nonsensical in the way that Jabberwocky is, using some made-up words and then some real words in unusual ways. But I'm convinced that if we read it several times, he'll love it. Each page talks about what happens "on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace...and everything is strange-splendid and plum-purple." For example, "the trees eucalyptus back and forth, forth and back, swishing and swaying, swaying and swishing--in the fern-deep grove at the midnight end of the garden." Or "the otters sing. They sing and sing all night long whether anyone asks them to or not." I think I might have to buy this book. For myself.
ORIGINAL REVIEW, 10/12/09: If I were rating this book just for myself, I'd give it 5 stars, which is a rarity for me. Both the text and the illustrations are charming and fun to read aloud. I'm giving it 4 stars because while Logan asked to check it out from the library so we could read it again at home, I think it was confusing for him because it's nonsensical in the way that Jabberwocky is, using some made-up words and then some real words in unusual ways. But I'm convinced that if we read it several times, he'll love it. Each page talks about what happens "on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace...and everything is strange-splendid and plum-purple." For example, "the trees eucalyptus back and forth, forth and back, swishing and swaying, swaying and swishing--in the fern-deep grove at the midnight end of the garden." Or "the otters sing. They sing and sing all night long whether anyone asks them to or not." I think I might have to buy this book. For myself.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews