Dusk

With the comic-relief exception of the rhyming shoppers, the text is spare and polished, strung together in measured prose like a string of bright holiday lights. Shulevitz elegantly captures the magical quality of twilight as well as the gleaming allure of the bright lights of the big city. (Picture book. 4-8)

Copyright 2013 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

It's easy to fall prey to melancholy when darkness begins to fall, especially in winter when "Days are short. Nights are long." In this quirky, cozy companion to the Caldecott Honor-winning Snow, a "boy with dog," out for a walk with his "grandfather with beard," comes to realize that a city (especially if it's New York City) can come alive in magical ways at dusk. The sidewalks and streets fill with people (and one extraterrestrial) headed home or out for a night's adventure. As manmade illumination gradually replaces "nature's lights," the whole world glows and sparkles, while lights belonging to Christmas trees, menorahs, and kinaras promise wonderful celebrations--and presents. "It's as light as day," marvels the boy. Shulevitz reprises the stripped-down, staccato storytelling of Snow, and his highly stylized cityscape--with its snug streets, toylike cars, and confidently striding (and eccentrically dressed) population--is both familiar and wonderfully strange. It's delightful to see such an outgoing and sociable offering from Shulevitz, as he exuberantly embraces the bright joys of a winter night. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)

PreS-Gr 1--The "boy with dog" and his "grandfather with beard" appear in a companion book to Snow (Farrar, 1998). The threesome take a walk in the late afternoon and witness a beautiful sunset before heading back to the city as the buildings and skies darken. The child feels that dusk is a sad time as it signals the end of day, but he notices the darkness is abated as the electric lights begin going on one by one. The diversity of New York City is revealed as the inhabitants, hurrying along to their varied destinations, are readying to celebrate a trio of holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Appealing gray, purple, and blue watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations of dusk are contrasted beautifully by the orange, red, and yellow of the sunset and the holiday lights. Bookstores, signs, and a library in the background are all tributes to reading. The brightly colored lights of the various festivals show that, though dusk may be the end of day, it may also be the beginning of a magical, memorable night.--Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

"[a] quirky, cozy companion to the Caldecott Honor-winning Snow....It's delightful to see such an outgoing and sociable offering from Shulevitz, as he exuberantly embraces the bright joys of a winter night." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The brightly colored lights of the various festivals show that, though dusk may be the end of day, it may also be the beginning of a magical, memorable night." —School Library Journal

"This is an experience rather than a plot." —BCCB

"Luminous." —The Horn Book