If you have ever wondered what night is like in the deep, dark forest -- while much of the world is fast asleep -- this is the book for you. Award-winning poet Joyce Sidman has teamed up with illustrator Rick Allen to create a lyrical and visual masterpiece. The left side of each double-page spread contains verse in a variety of poetic forms, the right side shows striking linoleum block prints on the featured nocturnal animal or plant, along with a brief factual description. The clever endpapers bookend the volume with lovely sunset/ sunrise scenes featuring the Dark Emperor himself, the owl.

Recommended by Ann Mansfield, Librarian.