Member Reviews
I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A simple book for kids about how something becomes another thing like night to day and seed to tree.
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This beautiful book draws all, child and adult, into our everyday world and yet allows us to see the world with a fresh vision. I loved how Argentine’s text challenges the child to draw conclusions on how our world is full of contrasts and comparisons and provokes questions how to explore our world in relationship to nature. The photographic images subtle use of colors offers a full palette of pleasing sensory images. Reverse juxtaposition of the title over the dawn on the stunning cover invites curiosity to open the book and explore. I particularly loved the glossary, expanding the use of the book for the home and school.
A variety of photographs and poetic text show changes in nature that are big, quick, slow, brighten the landscape, and more. The photos and text are useful for discussions of changes that occur in nature. Back matter includes an author’s note and more information about each of the text+photo spreads.
From the first time I saw the cover of NIGHT BECOMES DAY: CHANGES IN NATURE written by Cynthia Argentine, I knew wanted to read it—and when I did, it did not disappoint. The stunning cover art is just the beginning. The absolutely gorgeous photos that fill the pages—some with a before and after feel, and others in a compare/contrast style—perfectly complement Argentine’s text.
The book lyrically and deftly covers Earth’s changes from small to grand (and bonus! It’s also a fun way to teach opposites!). While change can sometimes feel jarring, Argentine’s text soothes as it illustrates nature’s amazing transformations.
The “deeper dive” back matter, “A Closer Look at the Science of Change” rounds out the spare text and provides more information for older, inquisitive readers.
There is so much to love here! Highly recommended for your children, for yourselves, for your library or your classroom.
Thanks to the Lerner/Millbrook and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
A year, month, week, day, hour, or even minute in nature is never the same as before. Nature is always transforming, changing in ways that are big, small, quick, slow, old, new, and many other amazing ways. Cynthia Argentine leads readers on a fascinating discovery of some of nature’s beautiful transformations with an eye toward Earth’s wonders. Bright, mesmerizing photos capture each concept, while an author’s note and back matter offer supporting material for each example and more on the science of change for older readers. This lovely book is deceptively simple but packs a hefty scientific punch and is sure to be one kids and teachers reach for again and again!
A special thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced reviewer’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about change in general, giving many examples of the different types of changes that we see in nature. I liked how includes lots of interesting nature facts and gives great perspective about nature. The additional information about different types of changes at the back of the book was a wonderful bonus. It's a book that makes you think. This would be great for any kid with an interest in nature, or if you want to emphasize the message of change how how prevalent it is.
I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Spectacular photos capture nature and show the changes Argentine writes about. Readers will see the specific focus of each type of transition and can appreciate the beauty. Families can continue learning with the informative text included at the end of the book and by setting out to find examples of nature's contrasts and transitions themselves.
A gorgeous picture book exploring various changes in nature, accompanied by stunning photographic illustrations. A sparse, beautiful main text is followed by more extensive back matter with nonfictional information excellent for the classroom or curious kids at home.
This absolutely gorgeous book shows a variety of ways that change occurs in nature. The clear and beautiful photographs invite the reader to explore the details, while the text flows and pulses with a rhythm that eases the reader to a deeper understanding of the concepts with lovely, poetic explanations. Read aloud, I can imagine this book will be experienced as a visual and auditory feast for young readers that will be read over and over again and inspire them to get outside and discover their own observations of transformation in the natural world. As a parent and teacher, I highly recommend this wonderful book for any shelf -- both in the home and in the classroom! I thank the publisher for a preview of the ARC, and happily await my own pre-ordered copy!
Author Cynthia Argentine has written a lovely book about the different types of transformations that happen every day in nature, from the minute (snowflakes forming) to the grand (rivers carving out canyons). The stunning photography helps to convey the sense of magic in these natural changes. Lyrically written, the text is simple enough for even the youngest kids to understand while also providing many areas of discussion and analysis for older kids. Back matter facilitates further inquiry into the different topics and items. It's rare to find a book that can be read both as a bedtime story and also as a resource in the classroom. This one fits the bill nicely.
An excellent book for appealing to a child’s imagination and stimulating an interest in science. It draws the reader in with a combination of colorful images and intriguing science facts. Various types of change in nature are presented in pairs of opposites. The changes are related to several branches of science (e.g., geology, botany, chemistry). The writing is poetic, creating a soothing, calming mood. The language works with the science content to give the reader a feeling of purpose and harmony. Highly recommended.
This is a gorgeous book. Both in words and in pictures.
I’m a grandmother of a little girl who lives too far away from me! So we talk via FaceTime. She always asks me to read books to her.
I can’t wait until this comes out in print, so I can read it and show her the photographs. In fact, I’ll buy one for both her and for me, so we can look through it together long distance. That way she won’t have to stare at the screen to see the pictures.
There are so many of these changes in nature my granddaughter will want to talk about. I love that there is more detailed information about each idea at the back of the book to keep the discussion going. And this book gives me ideas for some field trips I can take with my her the next time we visit.
This is a lovely book for young readers and even adults. It is written for young children, but the photography in the book is beautiful and as an adult, I appreciated the images and even layout of the photos. The author and photographer(s) blended their work together beautifully. Its lessons on change are evident by both word and picture and I was really impressed by the book overall.
I learned so much from Night Becomes Day! What a beautifully illustrated testament to the wonders of our world in the form of nature's mysterious transformations. I especially love the fonts and sizes of words to help the concepts stand out. Congratulations, Cynthia and your crew!
The author has a glossary to go along with this book on her website:
https://cynthiaargentine.com/books/night-becomes-day/
Argentine's Night Becomes Day is a lovely, informative book about natural transformations taking place on the earth. The photographs are beautiful, and the description of these wonders will engage and inspire student learning. Night Becomes Day would be appropriate for multiple reading levels covering picture books to elementary science studies. This book would greatly benefit from the addition of a glossary. Words such as ancient, intense, glacier, magma, cavern, spires, etc., should be included. Self-motivated younger readers might not comprehend some of the words used in the scientific descriptions found in each section and would benefit from having those words defined. A glossary would also enable teachers and parents (especially homeschoolers) to assign further study of the information presented.
I was pretty unimpressed with this educational picture book, to be honest. Stock photographs fill the pages with sparse text along the lines of changes -- night to day, flowers to fruit, etc. It talks about how change can be fast or slow and use heat or cold, and so on. It reminded me of the flimsy paperback books we used to get from Scholastic for 99 cents, and if this were really affordable like that then I would recommend it as a nice science read for little ones. The suggested price is many times higher though, and I just don't see anything really spectacular about it. We would have read it once in our family, which would take just a few minutes, and would have returned it to the library without ever looking at it again.
Fine, but nothing really memorable.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
What a beautiful book! I am a secondary librarian, so a little low for my students, but will gladly share this book with our elementary librarian. As a former middle grade science teacher, I love it! There were a few vocabulary words that I thought strange for a book at this level, like microbe. Will be interesting to see how teachers/parents answer that one? “Hey Mom/Dad, what’s a microbe?” But hey, great to build vocabulary! The ending with “A Closer Look at the Science of Change” was really cool because it gives a more in depth look in to the changes that occur in nature. I think the best part of this book was the photos; high quality, bright colors, exquisite.
Thank you Netgalley and Learner Publishing Group for this ARC. Will share it with our elementary librarian, I think it will be a great addition to our library.
This is an excellent enrichment book for elementary kids highlighting all of the ways the natural world transforms itself. It touches on botany, chemistry, meteorology, geology, and more with striking pictures to illustrate.
As a bonus to the natural principles explained, the language is also rich and evocative. There's a sneaky lesson in onomatopoeia, comparisons/contrasts, and expressive words delivered right along with the science.
The main text that accompanies the illustrations is simple and fairly surface-level, but there's a nice section at the end that expands on each concept in more depth for curious readers.
This would be a wonderful addition to an elementary classroom or school library!
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!