The first word that pops into my head upon reading this lovely, poetic picture book is "soothing." It's a gentle, tranquil book, with a repetitive, rolling text written in a villanelle form, giving it a lulling but also dance-like effect. The illustrations are exquisite - I love the stark contrast in the limited color palette, mostly black and white with just a few crisp accents of yellow fireflies, red tulips, and the like. They have a woodcut style that feels very in keeping with the gently old-fashioned poetic form of the text, and, similarly a roundness and loopiness (the curve of the horizon, the whorls in the tree trunk, the round halo of the moon) that echoes the poem's repetitive, dancing form.

A beautiful, serene bedtime story to read with young ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the advance review copy!

The book cover drew my attention immediately. I love that throughout the book the Illustrations are mostly black and white, but each two page spread also includes a pop of color. If my review were to be based solely on the Illustrations, I would have rated this book as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As far as the story goes, I liked it, but didn't love it. I realize that it is poetry rather than prose, I just wonder if it will have widespread child appeal. However, I do think that the story can open the way for the parent to discuss the story with the child.

I rate this book as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Books for providing me with a free copy of this book.