As a wildlife biologist, I am always searching for children's nonfiction books about wildlife. Night Creatures takes children on a backyard adventure to discover a variety of wildlife that only come out at night.

Rebecca Hirsch gives solid factual information in a fun and enlightening way. The writing I found to be engaging for children and allows for questions about wildlife. For example, firefly populations are slowly decreasing, and exposing children to these wonderous insects is perfectly done.

The illustrations by Sonia Possentini beautifully depict the scenes and the wildlife around Hirsch's story.

In Night Creatures, author Hirsch and illustrator Possentini beautifully present information about animals while evoking a feeling of being outdoors on a summer night. The text uses sensory details to accomplish this—the touch of “a cool night breeze,” the sound of a green frog calling “gaLUNG!” The illustrations move between landscapes and close-ups, showing fine details such as owl feathers, bobcat fur, and bat wings. Action occurs as animals hunt and flee. The story closes with daybreak, providing a sense of peace and quiet anticipation. Back matter gives more information about each night creature in a readable format.

I requested this book from #NetGalley for it's cover. So pretty!! And the book is full of it.

But the author also explained in a simple way to explain what night animals do while we are sleeping. Something we might not witness in our daily life. I learned some more facts while reading this book, with an explanation about those animals in the back of the book.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. As the night creeps in the people who are camping in their backyard start to notice the many night creatures that join them.

A wonderful story to read to my toddlers. The pictures are colorful and easy for them to understand. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

My 5yo is a big fan of animals, so we picked up this book to read together. Though this is a very short book, it details the sorts of animals, and the sights and sounds you might see camping in your backyard. I thought it had a peaceful vibe and I thought the illustrations were detailed and lovely—really capturing the night's essence. My only nitpick would be that there isn't a whole lot of narrative content in this short picture book (except for the informational details at the end), so it might be more suited to the 2-4yo crowd. In the end, my 5yo said he didn't really like it because he didn't like night creatures... so take that however you will, but I would still recommend this book to young children learning about the wildlife in their own backyard. (4.5/5)

This book is beautiful, though the subtitle is a little misleading. I expected more information in the main text about the animals, but these are all just concentrated on the last two pages. I did like how the author distinguished between crepuscular and nocturnal animals, though, because picture books about this subject usually just calls all of the nighttime creatures nocturnal.

A winning combination of descriptive, poetic text and intriguing illustrations of night creatures being observed by a mother and child make this book a pleasure to read. Informative back matter is also a plus. A wonderful book for reading and sharing.

I liked this children’s book and the way it teaches kids about animals who come out at night. The artwork is beautiful.

Rebecca Hirsch's Night Creatures has an interesting topic for kids. However, in not clearly defining what type of book it should be, Night Creatures falls short it what it could be. Is it a fiction book with a story for kids? Not really, and the story falls definitely short. Is it a nonfiction book with lots of cool animal facts? No. There aren't even very many animals mentioned throughout the book. The illustration are okay but the style just makes the book feel old rather than helping aid it along.

Outdoors, a summer night, and all the animals that come out to play when the rest of us are sleeping. Artfully drawn illustrations and in some places so detailed the look like photos. A mother and child celebrate the night and the sounds around them as they camp in the backyard. This is a carefree book and full of joy. I appreciate that the characters aren't white and show the diversity of experience people of color live. This would be a great book to share in storytime and bring in interaction. There are a lot of elements to talk about on the page and the simple text invites the reader to slow down and ask questions.

A great book for narrative building, vocabulary and dialogic reading. This book is a must have for library shelves.

This was a really sweet story, I enjoyed the light text and detailed illustrations. It's definitely for a younger audience but I appreciated the more scientific descriptions of the real night creatures at the end of the book.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

So fun and perfect for or outdoorsy family. Great illustrations and writing.

A wonderful book about the animals that come out at night. The follows a Mom and her son as they say in a tent for the night to see all the animals that come out at different times during the evening, night and morning hours. Such a very informative book for kids of all ages. I highly recommend it. Beautiful Illustrations that I loved. Thanks to #Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

What a beautiful book. I really loved the illustrations, so much detail and really magical. The idea of camping just outside the family home is so relatable, in fact we have done just that on many occasions. It was so interesting seeing a lot of animals that we don't have here in Australia, I'm not sure if I'd be as keen to sleep outside I'd I knew a bobcat or a skunk were on the prowl. Although the illustration of the baby skunks was so sweet. The story flowed really well and was a great length to keep the kids interest. I really appreciated the extra information about the animals in the back of the book. I knew that nocturnal animals were a thing but I had never heard of crepuscular or diurnal. Overall a really great book, I'll be requesting it for our library.

This was a great picture book for bedtime or story time. The illustrations were excellent. They made the nighttime come alive and the slight variations between dusk and dawn were beautiful. The story was simply entertaining but the educational information at the end would allow you to dive in further. A perfect book to add to your collection!

I thought this was a nice story, with a great use of descriptive words, for littles. Could make a nice lesson on night animals, a bedtime book, or as a prelude to a night walk in the park! I think littles will enjoy hearing about the animals and creatures that wake up at night. The illustrations were very nice.

Night Creatures is geared for the the youngest of readers and parents that read to their young children. The illustrations are very nice and the idea of presenting night creatures is a good one. The mouse being killed by the Great-horned Owl as a focal point of the book seems a bit much for the target audience.

This is a beautifully illustrated children's book, which opens the young reader to creatures that thrive in the night in a nice, simplistic, light read. I appreciate that it has a final page with information about each animal, because it gave only the briefest amount of information within the story itself (as intended, I am assuming, for young/early readers). For children who want to learn more though, it's great that they have wonderful images within the book and additional details at the end.

Night Creatures is a dark and moody illustrated children's book filled with facts about nocturnal animals. This book would be great for mid-elementary readers who love learning about animals!