Flashlight Night

Three children get ready to spend the night in a tree house with a blanket roll and a stack of books. An older boy with brown skin carries a flashlight that slices through the darkness, "past old post and rail/ along a long-forgotten trail." In scribble-textured pencil drawings, Koehler (This Book Is Not About Dragons) pictures scenes of make-believe unfolding within the flashlight's beam. The boy and his companions--a girl his age and a younger boy in footie pajamas, both white--explore a tomb, battle a threatening pirate aboard his ship, then vanquish a giant squid. In the darkness beyond the flashlight's glare, readers can see the real landscape that provides the settings for the fantasy play: the tomb is under the backyard deck, and the pirate ship is in the pool. The final page reveals another source of the group's swashbuckling adventures: the books the three are reading together. Newcomer Esenwine's balladic verse and Koehler's sturdily drafted pencil drawings don't just lobby for children to read--they show how readers play. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Sept.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--There's something almost magical about flashlights. Esenwine's poem captures this quality as three children (one brown-skinned and two white) explore a backyard, deck, basement, and tree house under the beam of their torch. The verse is incantatory, summoning jungle beasts, Egyptian tombs, pirate ships, and the like. Koehler's digitally colored pencil drawings cleverly depict what's really in the kids' surroundings while also showing what they are imagining: the edge of an upended vase in the ray of light is revealed to be a part of a baseball in the dark, a bone is actually a knotted rope, the ocean is really the above-ground pool, and so on. VERDICT This is a simple idea that's engagingly executed and would be an excellent, atmospheric read for sleepovers or backyard campouts. A good choice for most collections.--Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

*"The contrast between darkness and the area illuminated by a flashlight fascinates children, but this title kicks the fun up a notch. Three kids...are heading for a summer sleepover in the treehouse. Wherever the storyteller focuses the (flash) light, the real transforms into the imagined, and the green/gray of night fills with subdued color. The modest swimming pool inspires a pirate escapade; a rope ladder links to a hot air balloon rescue. The delicious language and ingenious metamorphoses, rendered in pencil and colored digitally, are tied directly to classic books stacked near the sleeping bags. A rousing read." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review.

"A flashlight becomes a gateway to a whole new world in this imaginative picture book. At night, three kids sit in a tree house, telling stories with only a flashlight to see by. Muted pencil illustrations show the nighttime scenery...while the flashlight beam cuts across the pages, illuminating more surprising scenes. Each double-page spread grows more fantastical...Despite the excitement, the gentle rhyming text will wind young listeners down and help prepare them for dreamland adventures of their own." -Booklist

"On any dark night, a flashlight illuminating shadows can create delicious thrills. Here, ...(i)t's an old-fashioned, rip-roaring imaginary adventure, complete with a pirate, an ancient Egyptian chamber, and traveling to a 'foreign shore.'" - The Horn Book

"Adventure awaits beyond the beam of a flashlight! With beautiful words and stunning illustrations, this book begs to be read over and over again. You may just wish you had your own dark trails into the woods to explore." — Jason Lewis, 5th grade teacher at the Tyngsboro Elementary School in Tyngsboro, MA

"Flashlight Night by Matt Forrest Esenwine and Fred Koehler takes the reader on an adventure that truly illuminates the power of imagination. Esenwine's poetic language is lyrical and filled with imagery and when accompanied with Koehler's beautifully detailed pencil illustrations, the story comes to life." - Kellee Moye, teacher and blogger at unleashingreaders.com

"A quiet night, a flashlight, and the anticipation of an adventure are captured in Esenwine's engaging text and brought to life through Koehler's illuminating artwork. Young readers will be inspired to grab a flashlight and create their own journey of the imagination." — Alyson Beecher, teacher and blogger at kidlitfrenzy.com

"Spotlighting the power of imagination, Flashlight Night transports readers into an amazing world of adventure!" - Michele Knott, literacy specialist and blogger at mrsknottsbooknook.blogspot.com

Flashlight Night is a poetic and engaging journey with three young adventurers exploring their world through imagination and play. — Cynthia Alaniz, elementary school librarian and blogger at librarianincuteshoes.blogspot.com