Joyce Sidman’s poetry explores various beings of the night with fresh, descriptive imagery and perspectives. A moth writes about its love for the primrose that nourishes and camouflages it. A baby porcupine—or porcupette—confidently confirms its ability to protect itself by raising its quills and doing a pirouette. As dawn begins, the moon asks where everyone from the night has gone, realizing that it will be another day before the sights and sounds of darkness return. Each of Sidman’s captivating poems is accompanied by a paragraph providing factual information about the subject. Rick Allen’s detailed, colored linoleum print illustrations lend additional beauty to this gratifying nocturnal experience. (Ages 9–13)

Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,
come smell your way among the trees,
come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:
Welcome to the night.

Welcome to the night, where mice stir and furry moths flutter. Where snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. Where the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. Where the porcupette eats delicacies—raspberry leaves!—and coos and sings.

Come out to the cool, night wood, and buzz and hoot and howl—but do beware of the great horned owl—for it’s wild and it’s windy way out in the woods!