I love love loved this book. The artwork was beautiful, the writing was perfect and gorgeous while being just a little bit haunting. Finn didn't care for it as much, but I really enjoyed it.

This was a beautifully illustrated book and I really enjoyed reading it. The book really kept my attention and had a very good lesson behind it as well.

I enjoyed this book and would, and plan to, read it to my class. It is an interesting story that I feel will engage my kids and keep them entertained.

An ecological fairy tale about the ripple effects of just one seed sprouting on a pavement crack. Trees and flowers grow, wildlife comes back, and--as the illustrations show--so does the joy that the people did not know was lost.

LOVE this one! I am actually going to go and pick-up a copy to put in the toy box for all the children that visit my house.

Charles Ghigna has done a beautiful job of putting together a story that reads in verse. There is a rhythm to the story, a rhyming tone and pace that is just perfect. Additionally Ghigna has snuck in some complex words like: rendezvous, shimmer, shroud, azure blue; that children can learn as they hear the story over and over again. The illustrations are beautiful and I love how they go from twilight to dark, to darker, to lighter and the to daytime and colourful. The pacing and tone of the whole book is just perfect.

Additionally The Night the Forest Came to Town is a story about what is in the dark that isn't scary or something to fear but instead interesting or cute and cuddly. But unlike most stories about nighttime for children it never references the night as being scary or dark; instead it just talks about all the wonderful things that happen at night. I really like this approach to ignore that children may have fear and instead just talk about good things in the dark. This may help a child to understand that there was nothing to fear in the first place! Sometimes I wonder if books about not being afraid of the dark are just re-enforcing that the dark is scary. I'm sure there are two schools of thought on this and I don't know which is right; but I do love the perspective Ghigna uses here.

I can't give anymore of an endorsement than to tell you that this is on my list to purchase for my own (childless) house. It will go in the kids toy box for visitors but I could easily see myself being excited to read this lovely verse just because.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I loved this little picture book. One night, nature comes to the dull, drab town. It blows in and scampers in and flies in. The illustrations are whimsical, detailed, and perfect for the story. The plants and animals are bright and colorful where the concrete and buildings are gray and boring. The rhyming text is cute and I think this would make a wonderful read aloud.

The joy the plants and flowers and animals bring to the city-dwellers is obvious. It's a good reminder for all of us to include a bit of nature in our days and in our towns

The Night the Forest Came to Town is a picturebook written by Charles Ghigna and illustrated by Annie Wilkinson. It is currently scheduled for release on October 9 2018. From dusk to dawn a forest creeps into a town where the grown-ups are too distracted to notice. But the children do. They see greenery take root in the lifeless cracks of dull sidewalks. They see an eagle build her nest atop a forgotten fountain and saplings start to sprout in dark corners. A gray-drab city defined by concrete and steel, vibrations and notifications, transforms into a living garden where apartment buildings overflow with window boxes full of flowers, birds sing songs through day and night and children laugh and tend to their gardens. Watch as nature reclaims this town.

The Night the Forest Came to Town is a book told in rhyme and filled with whimsical pictures about nature returning to a city environment overnight. I liked the idea of the book, and found the artwork to be lovely. I think the idea of nature returning to a city to be a lovely idea, and one that we should be working toward in sensible ways. I think showing young readers, and their adults, how easily nature could find its place in our cities and how much it can enrich our lives is a great thing. I do think that it was a little too perfect, and a little too sweet, but sometimes we need that. I think that those holding a physical addition of the book will enjoy it, particularly the art, even more than I did. Reading the Kindle version from Netgalley did not really to the book justice, and I have a firm belief that the final version will be even more beautiful to look at.

The color choices and illustrations of this were absolutely stunning and the storyline is tempting. However, I'm left with one huge question, what happens when the city wakes up in the morning and finds the forest has moved in? It left me wanting

Though the text leaves a bit to be desired, the illustrations are beautiful. It's hard to understand exactly what Ghigna is hoping to accomplish with the story, and I felt myself continually being pulled away from the words by the illustrations. I think this could be much more powerful as a wordless book.

Ghigna's The Night the Forest Came to Town is a children's tale in verse about one magical evening when a spring wind blew seeds down into a grey town. Over the course of the night, rain showers set the plants to flourishing, and animals arrive, to build nests and dams. Come morning, the town is no longer grey, but a riot of colour and greenery.

I read this with my cubs, and they loved it. I myself enjoyed the poetry, though the whimsy of the tale was somewhat lost by my own understanding as an archaeologist, of how nature actually reclaims towns, in that they are usually abandoned… Otherwise, this story had a somewhat sinister note for me. A horror story akin to The Happening. Just me, I know. And I know the point of the story is we shouldn't try to eradicate nature from our cities. That life will always find a way. The children in the story seemed happier with the flourishing nature, and to notice it more. There's one adult dude always on his phone. But come morning, the adults can't help but notice.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Orca Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sorry, wrong review sent previously.
This book should be in all school libraries as it deals with comparisons on the town and country which is covered in the curriculum.
I like how the children are the ones that notice the their town is changing!

The Night The Forest Came to Town by Charles Ghigna, illustrated by Annie Wilkinson and published by Orca Book Publishers is an incredibly beautiful book. With a lovely lyrical rhyming story and some of the most captivating illustrations I have seen, children and adults alike will not be able to resist this beautiful story. The illustrations completely make this story come to life. The vibrancy of the green taking over the city to the darkest deepest blue of the night sky, punctuated by hits of vibrant colours in the birds and flowers makes this a frame worthy story.

When night falls, the children notice something creeping through the cracks in the concrete, and swirling green and dandelion fluff like seeds float through the sky. Then come the animals, the mammals and the birds and the garden starts to grow. Seedlings take hold and the wild takes over the city. As dawn breaks, the children are out again enjoying the beauty all around.

The Night The Forest Came to Town is the perfect story about the necessity of the wild in our lives. Even in the city we need gardens and greenery and the magic of nature and wildlife. It’s a connection to the land and to that special magic that can ground us and calm us and make us appreciate everything we have. The best story to share and then get outside and enjoy the beauty of the spring, the season of rejuvenation.

This was gorgeous with simple poetic rhymes. The title make the book seem more ominous than it was.

The Night the Forest Came to Town was a simple, calming book. I thoroughly enjoyed the rhymes and it was a smooth read. The pictures were nice, but not exceptional. It would be a good book for bedtime. Overall, the book was good, the rhyming being the high point.

I received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Great artwork! The rhyming phrasing in this book was clever. Highly recommend!

5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed.

Written in perfect rhyme that is enriched by whimsical,vibrant illustrations, this book pulls the reader into the magic it is about to weave. This obscure little town is hemmed in with concrete and inanimateness. No greenery exists so it lacks the beauty of nature and lushness of plant life. Then it has a wonderful natural event awakening ...

One day from dusk to dawn a true miracle transpires. A forest slowly makes its way into the lifeless town starting with the wind blowing a sudden rush of green that sprinkles seeds along the barren, gray sidewalks.

Greenery takes root all along the streets and in the cracks of the dark pathways and even manifests itself on the rooftops of buildings.

When the greenery has sprouted everywhere it signals the wildlife to follow because now the animals can have a place to reside. An eagle flies in and builds its nest on top of a dilapidated worn-out fountain. Chipmunks chatter as they approach the town, rabbits hop towards a new life, owls and birds swoop in to create nests that they can nestle high in the treetops.

A boring, prison-grey city is set free as nature transforms it into a living, luxurious landscape which enables kids, adults and animals to celebrate that conversion with laughter and engagement as they appreciate the beauty of the cosmos that now surrounds them .

Nature reclaimed this town and its residents will never be the same. I loved the book and highly recommend it.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a cute and whimsical story with nice illustrations. The story is told in rhyming poem form. The illustrations pull the story together in a lovely manner.

This book took me from a cement and brick city that seemed a little bleak to a colorful happy place. The overall book was wonderful. The rhyming of the text, the beauty of the artwork, and the overall change of the city was almost breathtaking. However, the text is so small that it will be a hard read for groups. Although the pictures in this book tell a story all its own, the words tell another and they need to be larger in font. Because of this one issue I lowered my review by a star. Overall, still an enjoying read.

Throughout the night, plants and animals come to a busy town, transforming it from drab and gray to a bright, beautiful town. This book was delightful! The illustrations are terrific, and the words were even better. One of my pet peeves is "rhyming" books that have trite, overdone rhyming words and that have terrible meter, so I'm thrilled that this book has completely fresh rhymes and that they have a lyrical quality that makes them a delight to read aloud. Really, really well done.

I read a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

First I must thank Netgalley for this advanced digital copy. This book is beautiful. The story is about how nature will overtake places in time including cities. The illustrations are amazing. This is definitely a book to look for in Oct. Would be a great gift to kids of all ages. I highly recommend this book of poetry.