Dusk

Starred review from June 24, 2013
It’s easy to fall prey to melancholy when darkness begins to fall, especially in winter when “Days are short. Nights are long.” In this quirky, cozy companion to the Caldecott Honor–winning Snow, a “boy with dog,” out for a walk with his “grandfather with beard,” comes to realize that a city (especially if it’s New York City) can come alive in magical ways at dusk. The sidewalks and streets fill with people (and one extraterrestrial) headed home or out for a night’s adventure. As manmade illumination gradually replaces “nature’s lights,” the whole world glows and sparkles, while lights belonging to Christmas trees, menorahs, and kinaras promise wonderful celebrations—and presents. “It’s as light as day,” marvels the boy. Shulevitz reprises the stripped-down, staccato storytelling of Snow, and his highly stylized cityscape—with its snug streets, toylike cars, and confidently striding (and eccentrically dressed) population—is both familiar and wonderfully strange. It’s delightful to see such an outgoing and sociable offering from Shulevitz, as he exuberantly embraces the bright joys of a winter night. Ages 3–8.

Starred review from September 1, 2013
A grandfather, his grandson and their hound dog stroll through a city as the sun sets, meeting comical characters and observing the brightly lit city at night. Caldecott Medalist Shulevitz explored daybreak in Dawn (1974) almost 40 years ago, with a similar odyssey by a grandfather and grandson in a country setting. This time, the "[b]oy with dog and grandfather with beard" head for the city, a fantastical location with tall, narrow buildings that have an Art Deco look and cars and clothing that suggest the 1930s. The boy and his grandfather meet several odd characters from different time periods and places; they speak in rhyming text about their shopping quests. As daylight fades, the lights of the city come on, including streetlights, lighted store windows and brightly lit Christmas decorations. The glowing windows of apartments display candles for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, shown equally in three adjoining windows, and children celebrating the three holidays parade through the town. The pacing speeds up and the amount of artificial light gradually increases until the luminous final page, on which the boy exclaims, "It's as light as day." With the comic-relief exception of the rhyming shoppers, the text is spare and polished, strung together in measured prose like a string of bright holiday lights. Shulevitz elegantly captures the magical quality of twilight as well as the gleaming allure of the bright lights of the big city. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-The "boy with dog" and his "grandfather with beard" appear in a companion book to Snow (Farrar, 1998). The threesome take a walk in the late afternoon and witness a beautiful sunset before heading back to the city as the buildings and skies darken. The child feels that dusk is a sad time as it signals the end of day, but he notices the darkness is abated as the electric lights begin going on one by one. The diversity of New York City is revealed as the inhabitants, hurrying along to their varied destinations, are readying to celebrate a trio of holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Appealing gray, purple, and blue watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations of dusk are contrasted beautifully by the orange, red, and yellow of the sunset and the holiday lights. Bookstores, signs, and a library in the background are all tributes to reading. The brightly colored lights of the various festivals show that, though dusk may be the end of day, it may also be the beginning of a magical, memorable night.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2013
Preschool-G Bundled up against the cold, a boy, a grandfather, and a dog walk down to the river, where they watch the sun set. At dusk, they return to the city, where people hurry along the sidewalks. Four figures pass by: man with cravat, woman with hat, retired acrobat, and visitor from planet Zataplat. As the sky shifts from pale blue to deepening shades of gray, the radiant streetlamps, glowing theater marquees, and brightly lit holiday windows make the scenes increasingly colorful and as light as day. There's not much of a story here, and the rhyming thoughts of the four figures seem a bit out of place in the prose text. But when day turns to night, scene after scene offers a dazzling display of bright lights and subtly shaded hues. The black line drawings also set off the luminous colors beautifully in each scene. A vivid expression of the shift from day to evening and the brilliant lights and colors that brighten a city at night.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)