Daytime and Nighttime: Explore the earth's habitats during the day and night, by Michael Bright, Nic Jones (Illustrator)

 

Publication Sept. 26, 2023

Fascinating. Wonderfully done. Beautiful book. 

I finished last night and was thinking about it as the last light (still past midnight here in Alaska right now) slipped away. My dog had jumped up on her back-of-couch perch to survey the yard and I wondered what she might be seeing. Here in Alaska, you just never know. In the same streets that children ride bikes up and down and people walk their dogs, not to mention working in their yards, wildlife cams have been known to show up everything from bears to moose to lynx and rabbits and, well, who knows. In any case, it made me all the more intrigued by the author's look at what comes out in the daylight and dark in the same place daily around the world. 

I'm not going to share many details because that was part of the delight of going through this book. It takes us from city streets to the European woodlands to Australia to....well, too many to list. The illustrations are both colorful and beautifully done, giving us a peek at life in places most of us will never see with our eyes. I've got to admit, this is one of those books I found myself flipping through initially simply to enjoy the illustrations before going back to soak up the info shared. You'll recognize some of the wildlife shown but perhaps meet something new to you. As a fan of the ol' Monkees tv show where Mike Nesmith frequently wore a shirt urging us to "Save the Prairie Chicken", I laughed outloud to find it profiled here. Past life, meet scientific observation. 

While this is aimed at children, all age groups can and should enjoy this book. The info is at once intriguing while also being presented in an easy to read/understand manner and, of course, you'll spend a good bit of time marveling at the illustrations. I'd suggest a hard bound copy of this, however, as I found it a trifle awkward when I wanted to flip back from the same daylight and dusk/dark scenes via my Kindle copy. Doable but slowed me down. That said, many thanks to #NetGalley and #QuartoPublishingGroup - #words&pictures for allowing me to soak up this wonderful book. As noted, it made me think and, more importantly, taught me something new. I'm still digesting that both humans and snakes are diurnal creatures, however.