Good Night, Mr. Night by Dan Yaccarino

From the Publisher

Each evening as gentle Mr. Night walks the earth closing the flowers, soothing the animals, and calming the sea, he brings a special magic to the world. When you see him at your window, you’ll know it’s time for bed.

Publishers Weekly

"Night assumes a human form in a calming bedtime tale, whose quiet narration and undulating illustrations have an almost hypnotic quality," wrote PW. Ages 2-5. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PW called Dan Yaccarino's Good Night, Mr. Night "a calming bedtime tale, whose quiet narration and undulating illustrations have an almost hypnotic quality." Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Susan Hoyle Fournier and Marilyn Courtot - Children's Literature

Mr. Night has the job of walking the earth and closing things down for the night. He closes the flowers and quiets the animals. He brushes past the trees and calms the seas. To the youngster in the story, seeing Mr. Night at the window is a signal that it's time to go to sleep. His soothing presence stays with the boy and sings him to sleep. As the morning grows closer, Mr. Night goes to sleep, inviting the earth to begin a new day. The combination of Mr. Night's calming story and friendly image make this book a warm addition to a bedtime routine. His actions make the earth at night seem a quiet and sleepy place. The picture book has successfully transitioned to board book format, the only issue is whether Mr. Night might prove a bit scary for some younger children. 2004 (orig. 1997), Red wagon Books/Harcourt, Ages 6 mo. to 3.

Children's Literature

Mr. Night has the job of walking the earth and closing things down for the night. He closes the flowers and quiets the animals. He brushes past the trees and calms the seas. To the youngster in the story, seeing Mr. Night at the window is a signal that it's time to go to sleep. His soothing presence stays with the boy and sings him to sleep. As the morning grows closer, Mr. Night goes to sleep, inviting the earth to begin a new day. The combination of Mr. Night's calming story and friendly image make this book a warm addition to a bedtime routine. His actions make the earth at night seem a quiet and sleepy place.

Kirkus Reviews

Yaccarino (If I Had a Robot, 1996, etc.) personifies the night sky as a starlit man in a bowler hat who brushes past the trees, closing flowers and calming seas in preparation for the arrival of night and a young boy's bedtime. Mr. Night closes the boy's eyes and whispers dreams; as the sun comes up, he grows tired, "lies down just over the hill and drifts off to sleep." Simple forms and Matisse-like colors match the innocence of the story, told in a series of simple lines. Mushrooming shapes of color create waves of clouds, swirls of trees, and gobs of shadows that add up to a progression of expressive landscapes. Yaccarino's art is boldly stylistic, smooth and facile, boasting design and color composition as its strengths. Mr. Night's dark, star-covered shape provides contrast to each scene, as well as humor, e.g., he checks a glow-in-the-dark watch. The story would be lonely without these pictures, and takes on poignancy because of them; parents who work the lobster shift will find special meaning in these pages.

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